Family Reunions
by texaswookie
Summary: Buffy is almost always related in some way or other to a person in a crossover this is a tale of how Buffy is related to various defenders of the world and what happens when they come to help her take on the First.
1. Letters

Redoing of the first chapter/Prologue thanks to my beta RippersGirl who I am glad to have the help of.

**Family Reunion**

Prologue

Letters

Buffy sighed; she had been royally beaten by that super vampire last night. The whole ass kicking part of the program had been in reverse last night. She had barely stood against one, and lived to tell the tale. And the way Giles was talking, there was an army of those things itching to come out of the Hellmouth and have a party, with the people of the world as the main course. The question that was going over in her mind, was how was she supposed to fight an army, when she could barely take down one of the scouts? And why was all of this on her shoulders all of a sudden? She snorted to herself. She already knew the answer to that damn question. It was because she was the fricking Chosen One, Slayer comma The. She was the one person in the whole world with the strength to supposedly kick the ass of every evil undead thing there was, yadda, yadda, yadda. She had been doing it, too, since she was 16. She had moved here and killed all sorts of evil bad guys. She had even been forced to try and kill some of her closest friends. That's what fun it was to be the Chosen One. You had to do all of the not so fun jobs, and then put on a happy face, no matter what happened.

Her eyes darted briefly to a photo that she had on her headboard. There were actually several pictures on it. There was one of all the original Scoobies; one of Angel's team, and ones of various other people. The one her eyes flickered to this night was the one of her childhood friend, Ford. Ford, who had tried to cheat death, and in the end made her have to kill him. Of course, his idea of fighting death was to become a soulless vampire. If Spike were still around, she would have slapped him upside the head for that.

Maybe this was really it, the one where they all bit the dust. There would be no one around who would care enough to bring them back to life. They would all be dead, except for a handful of people that had already left town. This thought made her eyes flick to two of the pictures, one was of Angel, her first love, the other was of a pale skinned man almost as white as her vampire lover, except he was a werewolf not a vampire. The one person that had always put Willow first had been Oz. Somehow though, she doubted that would matter much to anyone. Besides, if they fell here, the world would be over run with all sorts of monsters. And that would be the end, as in 'Be-de-be-de-be-de that's all, folks.' Hell would come to earth because she hadn't been good enough to stop the forces of hell from coming through this time. She ached all over, but there had to be something she could do that would help. Sighing again, this time in frustration, she got up off the bed and went downstairs for a snack. Damn slayer metabolism was a real pain sometimes. She found a leftover pizza, that for some reason that would remain a mystery, Xander had not touched.

She looked up from the food in the microwave and noticed her mom's address book lying under a small pile of papers. She calmly picked up the book, along with the yummy smelling pepperoni pizza, and went back to her room. She sat down at the desk, and looked over the various names in the book. Some of these people she had never heard of, but they were actually supposed to be distant cousins. And some were friends that her mom had made on one of her business trips or from her college days. It was kind of crazy realizing. that her mom had known so many different people, but never told her about them. 'Kind of makes me wish I had done that family tree project for school,' she thought to herself. Looking at this had given her the very smallest of ideas. An idea she knew that Giles and the others would hate, but an idea all the same. The only question was, should she? 'What the hell,' she thought. Maybe she could give the world a fighting chance. Even if it was a really, really slim chance.

She began writing letters of warning to each of the people that were there, and just went down the line, telling them her story, and a little of her friends' stories (they had the right to decide for themselves if they wanted people to know about them). When she was done, there would be at least a handful of people that might hopefully understand what was going on.' That is, if they don't try and send me to a mental hospital,' she thought wryly, a small grin on her face. "Oh, ouch," she whined as the grin tugged at some of the scratches she had. It took her nearly all night, but she had a nice big wad of letters ready to be sent, along with several copies of her version of what had been happening. Fortunately, Anya had insisted on buying a copy machine to take care of business receipts, and amazingly wasn't charging them to use it. 'And to think, I nearly failed English,' she thought as she stuffed one of the envelopes. She would take the letters by the post office tomorrow; it was still open, so that meant she might be okay. Content, that even should she fail, there would be others to continue the fight that she had dedicated her life to. Even though she knew she would never really win the fight, it had been fun while it lasted. She nodded in satisfaction as the last stamp was in place. After she had drunk enough water to get the stamp taste out of her mouth, she went back to bed for a few hours of rest.

The Powers That Be looked on with interest at what their warrior had done, and nodded to each other in approval of this plan. But they also knew that the current allies of the Chosen One, might persuade their Champion not to do this. Such a thing would be sad; perhaps it was time that others knew what it was that was done in their world. They whisked the letters away in a glow of light, and placed the packet in a mailbox that would be picked up later. Now there would be no backing out of this for their Champion, and the world might stand a chance. They were even more limited than usual on what they could do, thanks to the one the world knew as Jasmine.

The Human Spirit though, is not something that even the Powers can truly understand, and one thing many do is to always protect their families. The wheels of change had been set into motion and now the Powers, and the world, would see the consequences their meddling had caused for the destinies of all the people in this dimension.


	2. Mail Call I

**Mail Call I**

* * *

**Kansas**

The mailman casually dropped the stack of bills, mixed in with a couple of letters, into the mailbox. Personally, he wouldn't have minded talking to the people that lived at this particular place, or managing to grab some of the famous muffins that were made here either. He mainly wanted to talk though, because there had been something seemingly odd about the really thick letter. It had come all the way from some place called Sunnydale in California. He prided himself with knowing things about every place a letter had come from, and a bit of the history, but oddly enough there had been very little information about this place. There had been a snippet here and there, but that was it. From what he had been able to find out, it was supposed to be a few hours away from L.A, had large gang violence, and was older than any other town that he knew of. It might even be the oldest town in the whole U.S., despite its small size.

Well, since no one was here to pick up the mail today, he had best be off, even if his curiosity wasn't going to be answered today. He was halfway to his mail truck when a gust of wind blew his hat off. He swore he saw something move past him in a blur, but when he turned around all he saw was the kid walking down the driveway to retrieve the mail. Well whatever strangeness that letter brought, the people living here would probably never know what to do. The mailman chuckled at the thought of anyone at this house handling anything weird. These people were the some of the most stereotypical farmers that he had ever seen. The only thing that was really missing, was about 8 different kids hanging around or doing chores. No, these folks were the mold that few people could fit. There was nothing strange about the Kents.

* * *

**Colorado**

Corporal Springer sighed as he sorted the mail for the base. There were magazines, some letters from various sweet hearts, family, friends, and some memos from D.C, about this and that. As bored as he was, he almost missed noticing the return address on one letter; it was only because it was so thick that he bothered to really look at it. His mouth went dry as he saw the name that was on there. That was impossible though, right? Last he heard, she was dead. They had all lifted their glasses in salute to her on the night they found out. Was he really that far behind on what was going on? And what's more, how did she know Him? He swallowed nervously as he put the letter in the appropriate pile. After another hour of sorting he went to make a call sure that no one would connect the letter with the call, unless they were tapping the lines of the base. He had hoped, somewhere deep down inside, that he would never need to use this number again, except for the odd vague report of nothing that needed the kind of backup they might want to send.

He placed the call and was hoping that maybe he was wrong, but they couldn't take that kind of chance, not on this person. He gave the appropriate signs and counter signs at three different spots in the conversation, before he was even allowed to make his report. He finally got a hold of his old C.O., which in itself was a relief. "Sir," he reported, "Graveyard Girl has just written a letter to one of the commanding officers where I am stationed."

"What? " Was the shouted response, and he heard the sound of a chair scraping the floor in the background, as someone got up fast from their seat.

"Yes, sir," Springer agreed. "I was just as shocked as you were. I was under the impression that she was deader than a…"

"No," the voice interrupted distractedly, "not that. We already knew that she was alive and kicking ass again." Springer bit down on his tongue when he heard that it wasn't necessary to inform him of this piece of information. There were more important things than just his wounded pride here.

"Who was it sent to, Springer?"

"The Colonel, sir." There were a lot of colonels at the base, but there was only one person referred to as The Colonel.

"Understood. Go to standby mode. I'll be leading the secondary team to discuss this with him."

"Yes, sir," Springer replied, hanging up. Great, his old C.O. was coming to Cheyenne Mountain to talk with Colonel Jack O'Neill, field leader of SG1.

* * *

**New York**

The mailman was always impressed when he dropped the letters off at this place. The building was farther off in the grounds, so it was useless to wait around to see what it was that went on in there. He casually leafed through the items before dumping them in the box. There were a handful of letters in about four different languages and the rest was mostly magazines. There were biker magazines, the gardening magazines that the white haired lady liked, some science ones, though less than there used to be. There were some new ones as well, some hand to hand combat magazines, and one that looked like it might be about circus stars, but it was in German, so he wasn't sure.

Whatever it was that the various people here learned, he hoped that this school was making some great people come out, considering the load that he was being forced to carry to this place every day. Mondays were just plain torture. He dropped one of the envelopes and grumbled as he picked it up. What was the guy getting? A book to be published, he thought as he looked at how thick the envelope was. From a Miss B. Summers, Sunneydale, California. Sounded like a nice place to take a vacation. Wonder if they have a very active nightlife, or if it's just dead? He liked to have a bit of action on his vacations. Maybe he should ask Mr. Scott Summers.

* * *

**Georgia**

The farm looked like it always did when the people that lived on it weren't being unfairly persecuted for helping people, and doing the right thing. The mail was dropped off at the peaceful farm without having to worry about any of the various methods that these people could think of to knock a person off the road. The mailman smiled as he looked over the spread. There were days that he wished that he had a spread as nice as this one, but he also knew that they had to fight all the time to keep this spread. He wasn't sure he had the inner strength to fight the corrupt legal system that was used out here. He began filling up the mailbox; it was full of the usual car magazines, some catalogs on farm equipment, and a couple of playboy magazines, usually with the girl on top of some car. He had almost made it back to his car when he heard the familiar sound of revving engines and the wail of a patrol car. As two vehicles shot past, one had the nerve to come close enough to scratching his paint job, the other actually went tumbling off the road for a moment. The two cars went on and the mailman smiled as he saw them reach a spot where the bridge was supposed to be, but it just kept going out. The car that was being chased actually seemed to go faster for a moment and it stopped making the jerky turns it had been earlier. He watched as the first car flew over the river where the bridge should have been; the patrol car tried to copy the maneuver, but ended up only making it halfway before it started to lose air and sink its nose right into the lake, with its back wheels sticking up into the air. The mailman sighed, some days it seemed that the Dukes were just never going to grow up and act their age

* * *

**England **

Two overly concerned parents were currently reading a letter that told the story of love, hatred, and war, which a bunch of children had been drawn into. The two would stop and shake their heads in sadness whenever they came across a particularly bad piece of information. "Almost makes you ashamed to be English," the father commented as he read about certain tests that this girl had been put through by some of his own countrymen, because of tradition set down a few hundred years ago.

"The poor dear," The woman said, dabbing at her face as she read a part about how the girl had drowned.

"You know who we need to show this to, don't you?" The man asked.

"Yes, but what if she shows it to her teachers, or worse yet, her friends? They might think its up to them to help."

"It might also let them know that they aren't alone," the man said as he held his wife, "and this is family. If it's one thing that we've always wanted, it's a family that will stand up for each other. If that means that they get into deadly fights for each other, then we'll deal with it the best we can and do whatever we can to support them, right?"

The woman nodded her head as she thought of her own baby going through these sorts of things. Could a person's life be more desperate, for a group of friends that had to mold itself into a family, like the one that they had spent nearly an entire night reading about?

"Look on the bright side though, we now know what to look for," the man said, trying to sound optimistic.

"Yes, I suppose so," the woman admitted, "it can just be a tad overwhelming at times is all."

"I understand," the man replied as he gripped her hand tightly to reassure her. "I plan on using the copy machine, then sending the originals to a place where I know that they'll be put to good use.

"Do it now," the woman said as she nodded toward the small copy machine that they had bought last week to help them, and their only child, with paper work throughout the year.

Nodding, the man copied each page and then put them all together; he put the copied pages in an envelope and addressed it. Now they just had to wait for an owl. If anyone could make heads or tales of all that information, then it would be his kid. After all, there was no one better than his little girl, Hermione Granger, when it came to understanding these kinds of things.

**Seacouver**

The mailman cautiously approached the antique shop. This place was weird; on one day, the man who lived here would meet him with a smile and a grin, and on another, he might meet him with his hand hidden behind his back, as if he was expecting a sneak attack. The man was a bit odd, a guy as young looking as him being an art dealer just seemed off for some reason, but he wasn't going to pry. After all, it could be something simple like he was a fence, and he got jumpy when people came by because he was protecting his interests. It wasn't really his business, and he didn't think anything of handing the heavy envelope to the man. The man received letters like that all the time, although they usually came from England or Paris, rather than places in California. But hey, this was Conner McCloud, as long as the guy was nice, he wasn't going to say anything about him.

* * *

**San Francisco**

The mailman smiled at one of the beautiful girls that lived in the big house. One of these days he was going to ask the youngest one out, but for now, he would just enjoy watching the girls as they rushed out of the house right before lunch, occasionally in some rather revealing outfits. His personal favorites were: the purple top with the short skirt that the red head wore, the hip hugging dress that the middle one wore, and the slightly too small outfit that the eldest one wore that showed off her assets. Watching the Halliwells was definitely the best part about delivering the mail.

The man smiled as he and the youngest sister nearly collided. Another step and… he found himself stumbling past her, his collision somehow thwarted. Muttering an apology, he handed over the mail noticing that the eldest had something from Sunnydale. He would just have to ask about it next time, since he didn't think that they were fooled right now by his innocent act.


	3. Mail Call II

**Mail Call II**

* * *

**Smallville**

"Hey, mom," Clark Kent greeted as he placed the mail on the table. The dark haired teen reached into the fridge, grabbed the milk jug, and began to drink from it. "Anything interesting going on?"

"Not really, Clark," the woman replied as she pulled the latest batch of muffins out of the oven her blonde hair hanging in a messy ponytail. She thought about telling her son off for drinking out of the milk jug again; a habit that he had picked up from Jonathan, who thought that it was perfectly natural for a person to drink out of the jug. She set the muffins down and began sorting through the mail. She grinned, there was a letter from Jonathan's cousin, Joyce. They hadn't even sent a Christmas card to them last year, because things had gotten so busy. She had been kind of relieved when they hadn't received one from her either. Still, it would be good to hear from her, and about her daughters. She opened it, and her mouth dropped open as she looked at the large sheaf of papers that had been stuffed into the envelope. It was as if she had just been given the life story of someone, and she was now being asked to read it.

"Whoa. Who sent the letter that rivals one of Chloe's editorials?" Clark kidded as he grabbed the envelope that was lying beside the papers. "B Summers? Why does that name mean something to me?"

"She's your cousin, Clark, on your father's side," Martha replied distractedly as she read the letter in front of her. "This can't be right," She muttered casting a glance or two at Clark. Before going back to reading the letter, she spent several minutes rereading just the first page. Clark saw that there were parts that she was reading over, to make sure that she had read something right. She shakily set the piece of paper down and then turned to the rest of the papers that were slightly different than the others. It looked like his cousin had been doing this like they were Christmas letters; as if they had been sent to more than one person. That was the only reason that he could imagine for why they had gotten something this big.

"So, do they have anything interesting to say?"

Martha bit her lip before looking outside. "I think we need to wait for your father on this one, Clark. You can read the first part, but the rest will have to wait 'til he gets a chance to look over it; and seeing how long it is, that probably means that you'll get to see it in a few days."

"Yeah sure, mom, that's fine," Clark said as he gave his usual smile, and picked the note up and read it.

Dear Kansas family,

Hi, my name is Buffy Anne Summers and I am related to you. At least according to the records that we have in my mother's old Rolodex, which I'm currently going through. If I read this right, we appear to be just plain old cousins, or something like that. Distant ones, yes, but we're still cousins.

A weird thing, even for me, has happened in my life. It seems that I have been named the leader of an army of girls, to deal with an army rising out of something called the Boca del Infierno, or in simpler words for those of you whose Spanish isn't what it should be, the mouth of Hell. We just call it the Hellmouth. I know a lot of you are probably reaching for the telephone right now and are seriously considering calling the men in white jackets to come and cart me away to some sort of padded cell, but trust me when I tell you that I am not crazy. I am one of the few people that stands between the world ending and keeps it spinning in its usual round way. I am the person that the unimaginable monsters fear. I am the Slayer.

Behind this little letter are some of the adventures that my friends and I have been on. Use this information carefully, and you may survive the coming darkness that is on the way. I have sent copies of these stories to other family members as well. Just know that I'll do my best, but this may be the one where I can't stop the bad guy from doing his thing this time. And if it is, then the world needs to have some pocket defenses that know how to fight the things that will be coming if I fail.

Buffy Anne Summers

P.S. Keep Safe

Clark looked up at his mother, a bewildered look on his face. "Is it likely that she's telling the truth mom?"

"I don't know Clark. Give us time to look it over. She could just be a disturbed person."

"Or there could be a connection to this and the meteors, Clark pointed out. "Which makes it my responsibility to take care of, not hers."

"Not everything has to do with you and the meteors Clark." Martha replied. "I don't want you to get hurt, is all," She admitted when she saw the hurt in his eyes.

"It's all right, mom," Clark reassured her. "It would take us a while to get there anyway."

"If you go, Clark, we may have to go with you," his mom said.

"No way, mom," Clark said. "This could be dangerous and there is no way that I am going to let you or dad get hurt if this is real "

"This is about family, Clark. We are all going if we find even the slightest bit of truth to this. We are going down there to help. "

"How can we afford something like this right now though?" Clark argued back. "We're just barely making the payments on the farm as it is, right now. And then there's the whole job thing with Mr. Luthor…"

"We will go together, if we go at all, Clark. It may not be as fast as any of us like, but we will all get there. Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am," He answered, sagging his head in defeat at the mother glare that she was directing at him. "I guess I better go and do my chores," he said. 'Besides,' he thought, 'I promised Lex that I'd go by his place later to shoot some pool.' Sighing in frustration, he sped out the door to get to work. He also made a mental note to check out all of the monster movies in Smallville. Who knew; he just might learn something that he could use in all this. If his parents would let him go,that is.

**

* * *

**

Colorado

Col. Jack O'Neil was not amused as he looked at the bunch of army yahoos that seemed to have invited themselves into his office. He glared suspiciously at the group of four in his seldom visited, paperwork room; where all the reports that he was supposed to do came. Other than Springer, he didn't recognize any of them. "Can I help you?" the man asked as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Yes, sir, I believe you can," replied a tall, blonde, blue eyed guy that would have been perfect for a recruiting poster, if it weren't for the nasty looking scar on the right side of his face. "I'm Captain Riley Finn, sir. I'm here to enquire about your relationship with one Buffy Summers."

"Who?"

Finn shared a quick grin with one of his soldiers. "Well, at least we know you don't know Miss Summer's codename: Graveyard Girl."

"Is this about that girl that I took out last night?" Jack asked, starting to get annoyed at all of the crap that was going on.

"No, sir, it's not. Besides, you don't fit the age requirements that Graveyard Girl prefers. Though you do come pretty close to it," a soldier off to the side said as he looked straight at O'Neill.

"Graham," Finn warned.

"Sorry," the man replied, giving Finn a slight grin before returning to his emotionless state.

"Anyway," Finn continued, obviously annoyed at his partner. "We are here to enquire about a rather large envelope you received from Miss Summers in the mail.

"Uh huh," Jack replied. " And this matters to you because?"

"That's classified, sir. At least it is until you read that letter."

"Springer, if I find out this NID, you're going to be in the crapper for a longtime," O'Neill warned as he walked over to his inbox and looked at his pile of mail. He fell into his chair and casually began flipping through it. The envelope that they had wanted him to look at was on top, but he managed to conveniently reshuffle his mail so that the secret letter was now at the bottom of the pile. Bill, bill, insurance policy, credit card application, a few letters from various people; he looked at the names, Smith, Jones, Blake, and even one from Sarah. He came across a couple of catalogs, a swimsuit magazine, and finally, there was the big envelope that all the fuss was about. Where was Daniel when he needed him?

The first thing he pulled out was a short letter. Next was a large pile of papers that appeared to be photocopies. His curiosity getting the better of him, he finally picked up the letter and began to read it, while the group in his office watched with bated breath.

Dear Uncle Jack,

How ya doing? Had I known about you when I was younger, I might have looked you up when I was dating certain people. Now I know that you're probably wondering who the heck this person is that's writing to you and calling you uncle. My name is Buffy Summers and I do not want to hear any cracks about that! According to the records that I have in my mothers old Rolodex, we are related to each other, somehow or other. I believe that you're my grandmother's brother's son.

As Jack read the rest of the letter, he tried not to let it show to the soldier boys in his office just how he felt about what he was reading. Then he got to the P.S.:

P.S, If Riley Finn is there with the rest of his friends, tell him not to play the classified game with you. If he does, and I'm dead by now, I will rise from the grave just for the pleasure of kicking his ass. And then I'll hit him over the head for never telling me about having family in the military. Unless he expects me to believe that there was never a background check on me.

Jack looked up at the men in front of him. He placed the letter down and slid it across the table. "This from who you think it is?" Finn picked the letter up and began reading it, while Jack flipped through the pages of stuff in front of him. Shaking his head, he thought to himself, 'This is like some of the stuff that SG1 went through. There is no way that a kid should have to be the one to go through all this; if it's true.'

"Thank you, sir. Can you let us inspect the papers now? There might be some useful information," the one soldier that hadn't been named yet asked.

"Don't try it, Jameson," Riley said as the man moved forward.

"But, sir, we have to keep this information classified," the man argued.

"You forget that orders say Graveyard Girl has the authority to inform anyone that she wants to," Graham said. "And if you attempt to confiscate those papers, you'll be in more hot water than you want to be."

"My team is going to find out about this," Jack stated looking at Finn. "I have a language specialist, a combat specialist, and a scientist. And they're all open minded. I'm going to go over all of this-" he waved casually to the pile of papers in front of him that he had just been skimming "- with them." Daniel, Teal'c and Sam should be able to figure out what the hell was going on and what of it was true. "When we're done, I'll let you know what we plan to do about this."

"Yes, sir," Riley replied. "I have to go talk to my commander about planning a mission to the Hellmouth. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get this all over with."

"I know how long these kinds of things take soldier, and I'm pretty sure that I'll be done and ready to make my call when the time comes."

"Yes, sir." Riley saluted the colonel, the other soldiers quickly following.

"One last thing before your dismissed."O'Neill said leaving the men hanging. "Is Springer going to be relaying any more information, or is he just an emergency precaution?

"Precaution only, sir. We deal with things that are related to those papers. Whatever it is you deal with, I'm told it's just as crazy and important. That is all the real information that I'm cleared to give you."

"All right, then you're dismissed," he said as he exchanged salutes with the men.

After they left, Jack sighed and arranged for a couple of guards to shadow the group back to the surface. A few more floors, and they would have seen the Stargate. That was not something he wanted to explain to anyone. Jack got up and headed for the office of what was probably his best friend. "Hey Daniel, I've got something I need you to look at," he said as he held the papers in his hands out, tempting the overactive student in his friend. The brown haired man looked up from a tablet that he was trying to translate. He winced slightly; he still had bruises from falling down a hill. Standing out of the way was another man; easily twice as big as either of the other two. "Good, you're here too, Teal'c. We'll need all the help we can get."

The Jaffa warrior merely raised an eyebrow at O'Neill. It was unlike his leader to want to research anything, much less a file as big as the one that he was holding. Something must have affected him on their last mission to make him act like this; such a phenomenon would be totally unnoticed in Daniel Jackson and Major Carter. He would have to watch them though, just to be sure that they did not display any abnormal behavior.

"Hey Jack, we have that briefing in a few minutes," Daniel reminded him, looking up in surprise at the large file that was placed in front of him. " What's all this?"

"Here," Jack said, ignoring the hint about the meeting, as he tossed a small piece of paper off the top to the man behind the desk. Grabbing it, Daniel Jackson quickly read it. His mouth hanging open in shock, he passed the letter back, and Jack handed it over his shoulder to the tall, dark skinned man.

Teal'c looked at it for a moment before looking back at O'Neill. "I thought that your Vampyre were nothing more than stories."

"And so were those giant lizards," Jack replied referring to the Unas that they ran into from time to time."

"Indeed," Teal'c said, bowing his head in agreement.

Daniel had already placed the tablet to the side and started reading the report. "The Chosen One," he mused as he pulled out a drawer from a nearby file cabinet. He rifled through the drawer until he came to the necessary file. He pulled it out and looked at it. "Here it is: The Chosen One, a mystical warrior that was chosen by the higher beings to battle the hordes of darkness." He looked up in excitement. "Jack, you've just confirmed one of the most obscure myths on Earth. Originally, I though that the Chosen One was the Goa'uld Sea'es. He was an unusual Goa'uld who appears to have gained worship through acts of heroism, rather than through acts of terror. He was most likely various heroes of the Greeks like Hercules, Perseus, Achilles, and Castor and Pollux. Possibly even Atalanta. For all we know he could even have been Gilgamesh "

"So you're saying that this Chosen One was something that was picked by the snake heads?" Jack asked. "Either a snake, or one of their little experiments?"

"No, Jack. The Chosen One, or Ones- I'm still looking into that part, was someone that was given large amounts of power by higher beings, the Powers that Be, a formless entity that affected various people."

"So you think this might be similar?"

"It could be," Daniel said excitedly, his eyes lighting up at the thought of understanding a mystery which had plagued historians for years. "I'll have to read all of this before I can be sure though," he added, nodding to the pile Jack had just dropped in front of him.

"We'll let you get to work on that after the debriefing," Jack said as he grabbed the file off the desk and handed it to Teal'c. "Guard this for me buddy."

"I will endeavor to do my best, O'Neill."

"All right, for now we'll just have to tell the general, that we're doing research on the possibility of another Goa'uld on Earth," Jack said as he led the other two out of the room.

**

* * *

**

New York

Scott Summers slowly pulled himself out of bed. It was just harder to move these days without her there beside him. She had been the person that he strove, and fought for. Now she was gone, and he had to act like nothing was wrong. He undid the strap of the visor that he slept in and pulled on a pair of ruby red glasses that covered his eyes all the way; leaving no room, for his deadly beams to slip out. After getting dressed, he walked downstairs and saw that the mail had already been delivered; it was sorted and ready for people to pick up. He grabbed his stack of mail and began going through it. There was the mechanics magazine, the insurance on his car, and an item mentioning that he was one of the benefactors from Jean's life insurance.

"What's up, bub?" Logan, or as he preferred, Wolverine asked as he came in to the kitchen. The feral mutant had agreed to hang around after the whole deal with Stryker. He was currently in charge of gym and wilderness training classes. He had spent some time mourning Jean as well, in the small wooded area that surrounded the back of the mansion.

"Not much," Scott replied, as he poured himself a coffee and looked for any actual mail, so he wouldn't have to deal with Jean's paperwork yet. He smiled as he saw a large yellow envelope. At first, he thought it was something official, but instead it was actually something from his cousins in California. He easily slit it open. It had been a couple years since he had heard anything from Aunt Joyce or his two cousins. He read the letter and paled. Storm, Professor Xavier, and the newest addition to their teaching ranks, Dr. Henry "Hank" McCoy, who was also known as the Beast due to his animal like appearance, entered the room.

"Scott, what's wrong?" Xavier questioned, sensing the fear and confusion that was coming off his oldest student.

Scott looked over at the bald man sitting in his wheel chair across from him, his piercing blue eyes boring into him. Scott merely pushed the first piece of paper across the table to the other man, ignoring the smell of brimstone as Kurt Wagner, or Nightcrawler, appeared in his usual cloud of smoke. Xavier looked at the note and began to read

Hey Too Cool Scottie and Alex the Smart Alec. It's me, your favorite cousin Buffy!

I know we haven't talked to each other much since you guys got separated to who knows where, but mom did have Scott's address, so maybe you guys are together again. I hope so at least. If Dawn were awake, I'm sure she'd write her own note to add to this, but since I'm the only one awake, you'll just have to deal with me and my notes. Anyway cuz 1 and 2,just so you don't think I'm only sending this stuff to you, , know that I'm also sending it to other people in the family, so here's the bit of family news that I have.

Xavier went from interested, to concerned, to worried, to amazed, as he read the note. Finally, he got to the P.S.:

P.S. Hey Too Cool, you still wearing those sunglasses that I saw you in last time?

Xavier passed the letter to McCoy, who merely muttered, "Fascinating," as he read it.

"Tell me, Scott. What are the chances that this is nothing more than a mutant war, that has been blown out of proportion?"Xavier inquired.

Scott shrugged as he watched the junior team come in. Logan scowled slightly at Bobby Drake, but that was more for show these days, than anything else. The junior team had all been granted X-Men status after the whole Weapon X fiasco a few months ago. So, the team now had four junior members. Marie was the leader, with Kitty Pryde as her second in command. The two boys who finished off the group, showed no want for leadership. Peter Rasputin and Bobby Drake preferred to just obey orders, while the girls were more imaginative and forceful in the Danger Room. The few missions they had been on, had been interesting. Marie, AKA Rogue, had the ability to drain another mutant's power and abilities; her team partner, Bobby, A.K.A Ice Man, was as his name implied, capable of manipulating ice. Kitty Pryde, A.K.A Shadowcat, could make herself intangible, while her team partner, Peter, A.K.A Colossus, was the exact opposite of her, and was able to turn his body into organic metal.

The kids were allowed to look at the note, after they agreed not to say anything to any of the other students until the adults could figure out what was going on.

"Well, I can tell you now, mein friends, that vampires are real," Kurt said from his seat.

Logan nodded in agreement to this. "Yeah, I've had a few run-ins with vampires. They're as fast and agile as Mystique, as strong as McCoy, and heal pretty fast too."

"Like you?"

"Nope, but a bullet wound will heal over in a day, maybe less. Depends on what they've been eating, or rather what they've been drinking."

Beast nodded as he contemplated this bit of information. "If what you are saying is correct, my untamed colleague, then our dear, bright eyed friend, will need us to go over this gargantuan pile of paperwork that portrays everything that has happened to this faceless kinswoman of his."

"How long do you think she has?"

"I think she has time, judging by this," Logan answered as he read the note. "I'd say she's just preparing for the worst." He snorted slightly at the nickname. "Too Cool?" he questioned.

He slumped his shoulders in embarrassment; now that everyone was interested in the story, he had to explain. "After I got my glasses, she started calling me Too Cool. The little twerp," he murmured under his breath, softly enough that he was sure the only ones that might have heard him were Logan and Hank. The Professor might have sensed the words as well.

"I like the girl already," Logan said grinning, ignoring the warning look that Scott sent him.

"We will have to be careful though," Xavier cautioned , "I don't want a repeat of Stryker, where he managed to pick us off one or two at a time, before we even knew what had happened."

"Ask Richards if he'll come and give a seminar for a few days," Logan suggested.

"That might not be a bad idea, but the man is very busy."

"Well, from the way that she's talking, it sounds like we have a little while before this Hellmouth opens professor," Kitty responded as she looked at the letter. "Besides, this evil stuff won't know what hit it when we decide to go."

"I believe that is the best course of action," Xavier agreed." Is there anything else before classes start?"

"Um, who's Alex?"

"My brother," Scott replied emotionlessly. "I'll get a hold of him, and tell him about short stack. He'll probably want to get involved as well."

"He gonna be of any help, bub?"

"Yeah," Scott said, "he shoots cosmic energy out of his fists. Think that will be enough to satisfy you?" Logan grunted, but didn't say anything.

The others all nodded. If this wasn't one of their usual missions and they weren't required to get into instant action, then they could study about what they were going up against.


	4. Mail Call III

A snowy white owl lands on the author's shoulder clutching a glowing red envelope. Paling the author shakily takes the item from the owl that wisely fly's back out the foolishly open door. The letter then begins to shout in a voice that has the author scared that the computer screen will crack.

"TEXASWOOKIE! HOW DARE YOU FORGET TO PUT A DISCLAIMER ON THE LAST CHAPTER OF YOUR STORY AND MAKING PEOPLE THINK THAT YOU OWN THESE CHARACTERS! NOW APOLOGIZE IMMEDITLY AND TELL THE TRUTH!"

"Yes ma'm." The author says, and mutters a quick apologies. "Sorry." Then says what he should have said at the top of the last chap.

"I Don't own a single character in this story they belong to various people and I'm not sure who they all belong to except that Buffy belongs to Joss, the various other characters belong to J.K Rowling, Warner brothers, DC comics, MGM, and Marvel Comics. "

"Did I forget any?" the Author says sarcastically, as he hurriedly shuts the door before an answer can come.

AN 1: This is the original Dukes merged with some elements of the movie. Because I'm more familiar with that style and it gives me more developed characters to play with.

AN 2: This has spoilers for HBP and any other HP chaps are likely to as well so if you haven't read the book now would be a good time.

* * *

**Georgia**

"Sheppard to lost sheep. Sheppard to lost sheep. You boys got yer ears on?" Jesse Duke, or better known to the small town community that he lived in, Uncle Jesse, sat in his white pickup truck, reading a letter that had come while he was out in the fields.

"This is Lost Sheep. Come on back Sheppard."

"Luke, I want you boys to get yourselves home as fast as possible. We got something to talk about. Daisy's already on her way with Cooter."

"Is that with, or without, Roscoe on our tail?"

The older man let a small smile pull at the side of his face. "Without boys, and be careful."

"You got it, Sheppard. We'll just dump Roscoe and Cletus in the pond, then be right over." The voice clicked off.

Jesse fixed up some various foods and left a message with an old friend to call them, as soon as he could. Smiling, the old man worked some kinks out of his shoulders; his long hair was hanging in two braids. He had just finished laying out the rest of the lemonade, when three different vehicles pulled in next to his truck. A white jeep, painted with Dixie emblem on it, held the pride and future of the Duke clan, Daisy. An old, beaten up, but well running tow truck, held the trouble seeking Cooter Davenport. Jesse shook his head; sometimes he wondered why the family dealt with that scallywag. The last car to pull up was a bright orange stock car with a confederate flag painted on the roof, the words 'General Lee' painted near the drivers side window, and the number one on either side. It was holding the two nephews of his, who attracted trouble no matter where they went, or what they were doing. And that car, that was supposedly the car that they used when they got in trouble, was something they used almost daily.

"Hey Uncle Jesse," they all said as they sat down at the kitchen table to hear what ever it was that the old man had to say. The old man's word was law with this group, since he had either raised them, in the case of the Duke cousins, or nearly raised, in Cooter's case.

"All right y'all, gather round. I only want to have to do all this once. So you two," he said, pointing at Bo and Cooter, "better listen real good, or I will personally lick you all the way to Nashville. You got it?"

"Yes, sir," Luke answered for all of them, his brown eyes and brown hair standing in odd contrast to his cousin Bo, who was blonde with blue eyes.

"Well, we need to make a decision, and Cooter here might have an idea or two; so I thought that I would let him listen to what it is that we have going on. Besides, one of you three would have told him anyways. Luke," Jesse said as he passed the letter to his nephew, who read the letter out loud to the rest of his family.

Dear Georgia Relatives,

Hi! My name is Buffy Anne Summers. It seems that in some weird and wacky way, that we're related to each other. It used to be that I let my mom do all the Christmas card lists, but she's not around to do that sort of thing anymore. So with out further ado, here we go.

A weird thing, even for me, has happened in my life. It seems that I have been named the leader of an army of girls, to deal with an army rising out of something called the Boca del Infierno, or in simpler words for those of you whose Spanish isn't what it should be, the mouth of Hell. We just call it the Hellmouth. I know a lot of you are probably reaching for the telephone right now and are seriously considering calling the men in white jackets to come and cart me away to some sort of padded cell, but trust me when I tell you that I am not crazy. I am one of the few people that stands between the world ending and keeping it spinning in its usual round way. I am the person that the unimaginable monsters fear. I am the Slayer.

Behind this little letter are some of the adventures that my friends and I have been on. Use this information carefully, and you may survive the coming darkness that is on the way. I have sent copies of these stories to other family members as well. Just know that I'll do my best, but this may be the one where I can't stop the bad guy from doing his thing. And if it is, then the world needs to have some pocket defenses to fight the things that will be coming if I fail.

Your cousin, Buffy Anne Summers.

Luke looked up at Jesse. "Is this for real, Uncle Jesse?"

"Yep. I even went and checked the family bible; found the Summers name connected about six or seven generations ago."

"So she is family," Bo said.

"Bo," it don't matter if she's family or not," Daisy said. "You heard that letter. She needs help, worse than a coon stuck up a tree with a whole passel of hounds on his tail."

"Don't worry, darling," Bo reassured his cousin, squeezing her hand. "We'll do what we can."

"Well if that's the case," Cooter said, rubbing his unshaven face, "then I guess the only real question for you folks is, who's going?"

They all turned to look at Uncle Jesse. This year, the Dukes would finally be able to get a bit ahead of all their debts and pay for a new tractor. But with the kind of family that the Dukes were, they couldn't just turn and leave family in trouble. No matter how distant they were.

Jesse sighed. "Boys, we'll try to finish this year's summer harvest, then we'll head on down to California. Cooter, you'll be welcome to join us." The four younger people nodded. It was time to help family. "Oh and boys, try and stay away from Boss and Roscoe." They all gave small grins at this.

* * *

**Seacouver**

Connor sighed as he looked at the letter again. One of the worst parts about being an Immortal was that you had to deal with people dying around you. He looked sadly at the letter, and remembered a young college girl with dirty blonde hair. A girl who had been studying both Art and Business, someone who often came to him for hands on knowledge during his short stint in L.A. He had spent nearly forty years in that town, and had helped the then young woman. She had come by in his last few years in the town. Grimacing at the memories that were coming up, he looked once again at the note, which had been placed on top of the pile of notes.

Dear Mr. MacLeod,

My name is Buffy Summers. The last time I wrote to you, was to tell you about the death of my mother. She said to consider you like an uncle, because you were like a big brother to her. Well Uncle MacLeod, I'm afraid that life has thrown a few curve balls towards me, and that I will have to explain a few things about myself, and what it is that I do. Then maybe you can understand why I feel like you should know what's going on.

As Connor read the rest of the letter, he almost smiled when she implied that he would think her crazy. He, of course, already knew about vampires, having occasionally run into them from time to time. But he had never heard of these Slayers before, though he had come across records of various chosen warriors. He had studied the records, in an effort to see if there was any mention of who the winner of the game might be. He still looked into them from time to time, but he had begun to doubt the accuracy of the records when he saw how many times the world was supposed to have ended. He had never noticed anything go wrong with the world. Now, it seemed that the only reason he hadn't, was because some girl fought beings with enhanced abilities.

Sighing, the Immortal knew that there was only one person to talk to when it came down to problems like this. He arranged for a trip to the safe house of a person who would probably know about this. It was time to visit the old man. He shrugged into his black trench coat, which hid the katana styled sword he carried.

A small road trip later, and he was standing on the blessed grounds that made up the home of the old man. Or if you asked the Watcher's Council, it was the home of Adam Pierce, a loyal watcher. The idiots still didn't realize that they were being played.

"What do you need now, you crazy Boy Scout?" The man asked as a greeting when he opened the door.

Connor looked at his friend Methos, or Adam, depending on who you talked to. The man was the oldest of their kind that Conner knew of. He handed the note over as he helped himself to the whiskey. The younger Immortal waited a moment, and then heard a string of curses in multiple languages. He recognized German, French, Japanese, and Latin. He thought he heard some Babylonian and Hebrew thrown in there as well, but he wasn't sure. Knowing his friend, it was probably just for good measure.

"Well?" He finally asked, after he was sure the other man was done. "Is this business about Slayers true?" He handed another glass across to the man, who gratefully accepted the drink.

"The Slayer is very real, MacLeod. In fact, she's supposed to be extremely dangerous. This one, in particular, is supposed to be the worst. Word from some of my connections, say that this girl is about a hair breaths away from being considered one of us," the man said thoughtfully as he thought about everything he knew about the Slayer. He grinned slightly at the Highlander. "I knew getting on your good side was the right idea, Highlander, or would you prefer Uncle MacLeod?"

Connor sighed at the name. "Just don't tell Richie, or Rachel, about that. I may have to tell them later, but I'd like to try to keep some of my dignity for now." The older man merely shrugged as it made little difference to him.

"You realize that you might need their help though, right?"

Conner nodded. "You intend to help me out?"

The man sighed in annoyance before nodding. "I might as well, Highlander. After all, if you were to die, I might actually have a shot at a nice, calm time," he said, grinning at his friend.

Nodding, Conner picked up his cell phone and began dialing up people that he would need to help him. Soon he had Richie, Rachel, and his clansman Duncan. They were all in various parts of the world, so he told them all to make their way toward his safe house in New York. From there, they would begin to plan what they might do.

After all, if this was Joyce's kid, then this was a family matter.

* * *

**Scotland/England**

Three teens were eating breakfast; two of them were, as usual, having some kind of feud, while the middle one was his usual, quiet self. The brown, bushy haired girl on his left, looked worriedly at him for a moment. While he may never let people see it if he could help it, he still had a hidden hurt in him, that he refused to acknowledge. The girl met the eyes of her other friend. The two of them nodded, as if in understanding, and the tension between the two mellowed slightly. They watched their friend for a moment before returning to their meals. They were stopped from saying anything when hundreds of owls began flying to the four giant tables that held the various students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; which was located in a giant castle, somewhere in Scotland.

One owl dropped a large pile of papers in front of the bushy haired girl. "Whoa Hermione, what happened? You didn't have enough light reading with Hogwarts, A History? Or maybe you sent in a list of things that they got wrong; is this about the chamber maybe?" His eyes lighting up with amusement as he teased her.

"Funny, Ron," she replied to her red haired companion as she picked up the large pile of papers. Stuck on top of the envelope were two letters. One was written in her mother's handwriting ; she was slightly more comfortable with leaving a letter for an owl to pick up than Hermione's father. She didn't recognize the handwriting on the other letter.

"Well?" Ron Weasley asked, curious despite his comments. The other teen, with the lightning bolt scar, was curious as well, but kept his mouth shut and waited for her to answer.

"According to this letter from my parents, it's a letter from an older cousin of mine in the states. They say that she understands the basics of magic, but that I'll have to read her letter to fully understand what it is that she does."

Ron picked up a sketch of a demon that that was sticking out of the pile. He vaguely remembered seeing a similar drawing in one of Percy's Advanced DADA books. "What? Is the whole overdoing things something that runs in your family? When mum sends a letter, it might be a page or two long, not a bloody 500 page report, with pictures of monsters in it."

Hermione glared at Ron, while their friend rolled his emerald green eyes at the stupid move. She quickly whacked Ron on the head. "Don't curse Ronald, or I will tell your mother that you're promoting the twins' products" The threat quickly shut him up.

"Mate, as you're my best friend, I am asking you to stop before she actually follows through with one of her threats," Harry pleaded while Hermione just ignored them, already looking through the stack of papers. Ron just glared at his best friend, Harry James Potter, the Boy that Lived.

Harry grinned at his two best friends as they went back to joking. Hermione quickly opened the other envelope, while Harry led their friend in a discussion about Quidditch strategies for the next game.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, causing the other two to look at her curiously. "Um, I have to go to the library," she said as she quickly grabbed the remaining papers and stuffed them into her bag. She rushed out of the Great Hall and past a pair of 5th Slytherins.

"Did you think there was anything odd about that?"

"What, her going to the library? Not really, mate. It's Hermione after all."

Harry rolled his eyes at his friend, who could be so, completely oblivious sometimes. It was almost time for potions, so he got up, it was located in the dungeons and he didn't want to be late. He was just glad that Slughorn was easier to deal with than Snape, even if he did want to 'collect' him, Hermione, and Ginny. That, and the Half-Blood Prince helping him through the classes with a few pointers, was making him excel in the class, much to Hermione's irritation, despite the fact that it was only hints and pointers on how to do better.

The rest of the day was spent in its usual fashion, though Hermione did seem to be slightly distracted all day. The three were in their usual work corner, and had made a good dent in their homework, when Hermione finally brought out the pile of papers that she had received that morning. She had been seen, by both of her friends, working on them off and on all day. Both of her friends were curious about what was so important in those papers.

The two looked at the pile of papers and merely waited for their friend to either tell them not to ask, or to tell them what it was that was getting her all riled up. Biting her lower lip uncertainly, she passed a letter over to Harry. The young wizard picked it up, and began to read.

Dear Grangers,

First off, let me say that I can't believe that I'm actually related to people in England of all places. My friends will never let me hear the end of this if they find out that I have family in Tweed Land. By now, I'm sure you're wondering just who the hell this person is, that's managed to insult you all in their first paragraph, without even explaining who they are.

My name is Buffy Summers and that is truthfully my real name. I am some type of cousin of yours on my mother's side. So now that you know that you have a rude insulting person for a niece, I get to do a little bit of sharing time with you.

Harry swallowed nervously after he finished reading the letter. Hermione was going to kill herself, trying to help this cousin of hers; he just knew it. And then where would they be? Of course, it also seemed as if there was someone with a life weirder than his. "So," he said weakly as he passed the note to Ron. "Think she can help with Voldemort? "

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Harry, my cousin has more important things to deal with than helping us in our war."

"I'm not saying she doesn't," Harry replied as calmly as he could. "I'm just thinking that someone like this would be helpful. Maybe after she does her thing, we can get her to help us out."

"Only if she gets reinforcements, mate," Ron commented as he read the note. "I think we have about a half a year or so and then she'll need our help, if we really plan on doing anything."

"All right then. Think you can wait 'til the school year is over, Hermione? Then we can all go together. I'll ride Buckbeak all the way there if I have to. And after you've read all that stuff, I'll even show it to Dumbledore," Harry promised. Hermione reluctantly nodded to this course of action.

"I think the thestrals would be better, Harry," Ron said, shuddering. But then he grinned at them, with a grin eerily similar to his twin brothers'. "Who knows, maybe they eat vampires."

Hermione looked curious at that. "You know, they actually might be able do something like that," she commented "After all, they are attracted to death and prefer dead meat." She wrote a note to herself, most likely to ask Hagrid later. That is, if they could get the half giant to talk to them.

"So we agree then? We need to help them," Harry said, confirming the information from his two friends. "And yes, I know my hero complex is getting in the way, so we'll try and wait for as long as possible before we make our move. Then we'll go and try to help," he assured his friends. "And we'll leave a note with Hedwig, to deliver a message after we're across the ocean. Unless you'd rather leave it all to the Order, who would rather meet about it than actually go there and help." The other two didn't really have anything to say about that, since that was what seemed to happen a lot.

Hermione nodded in agreement. "Even riding thestrals, it will be several days before we can make it to Sunnydale."

"Sunny Hell," Ron corrected Hermione, pointing at the nickname that was on the note.

Harry smirked at the glare she shot Ron as he nodded in agreement. "So what do the books in the library say?"

"Not much," she admitted, barely containing her growl. "In fact, it's like searching for information on the Chamber of Secrets all over again. There's almost nothing there. I've searched some of the basic books on magical creatures; I even checked a few books on history. There was, at the best, a half dozen books with one, maybe two, mentions of the Slayer. And those mentions were so unhelpful, that they might as well not even have been there," she finished angrily, as the library," for a second time, failed to provide her with the answers she was seeking.

"So you're saying, the Slayer is a little hidden aspect of the world that either the founders didn't want people to know about, or that the Ministry didn't want people to know about."

"Exactly," Hermione grumbled, nodding, Ron merely shook his head, not quite having lost as much trust with the system as his friends. He also knew that if she put her mind to it, they would all be studying, trying to find the information needed to discover what the magical world knew about the Slayer. For all they knew, there was someway to give the Slayer an energy boost or something.

The three began to make plans for the fight that was coming, and how they would best be able to help each other. While they planned, they forgot for the moment, arguments and feuds that had taken up most of their time since the school year started. Harry looked at Hermione for a moment, while they planned their next big adventure. A reminder of their first year ran through his thoughts. He also remembered the injuries that his friends had gotten, so that he could complete this mission or that. through the years. Yeah, if there was one thing that he could do for his friends, it was ensure that they didn't lose any more friends or family. Besides, Hermione and Ron were his family now, and if you messed with on of them, you messed with all of them.

**

* * *

**

San Francisco

Prue Halliwell frowned as she opened the letter that her sister had nearly had a convenient accident with the mailman to get. Why was Joyce's kid sending her a letter? She hadn't heard from their older cousin, who had gotten her interested in art in ages. She remembered the times when her cousin would come down and teach her things. She had actually taught all of them something, now that she thought about it. She had taught art to her and she was now doing more than just museum work. To Piper, she had taught the basics of cooking, and now Piper was a chef. And to Phoebe, she had taught her how to express herself. In Prue's opinion, she had overdone the job on the youngest of them. Still, it was hard not to be glad to hear from their older cousin. A cousin that had been there, and willing to teach them all the things that mattered to her. Shaking her head, she looked down at the letter and finished opening it.

Dear Halliwell cousins, about,

Hello, In case you hadn't already guessed, it's me, your adorable and sweet cousin, Buffy. You guys are probably one of the few people that that I actually already know. To start with, there's no easy way to say this, but mom died. It was a brain tumor. Sorry I didn't let you know before now, but it was a hard time and things got a little crazy that summer. I was believed dead, leaving Dawn alone, but we're both alive, despite some rather close calls that almost changed that. I know that some of that this isn't all that reassuring, but since you're the smart one, according to mom at least, I thought you could be the one to tell your family about what it is I do.

"Piper, Phoebe, you two might want to get in here," Prue called as she finished reading the letter. The two sisters entered and Prue showed them the letter. After a short debate, the three quickly decided to go and check the Book of Shadows. Hurrying up into the attic, they found themselves in front of the family magic book. Biting her lip, like she always did when she was just trying to get information from the Book, Prue stood as tall as she could and said, "We need information on Vampire Slayers." The Book flipped opened on its own, and the pages began moving until they finally landed somewhere in the middle.

"Let's see," Phoebe said, eagerly stepping forward and reading. "It says here, that the Slayer is a human being with enhanced speed, strength, senses, healing, and endurance. They're trained to fight from birth, and they also have some minor seer powers. Oh yeah, and their always a girl. Can we say girl power?" she said grinning, but the other two didn't share her amusement of the subject. "Man, I would so trade my powers for hers."

"From the sounds of this, she could really use our help," Piper said as she was reading the letter over again, hoping that it would make more sense to her this time around.

"Who would have thought that the daughter of Joyce Summers, would be more than the blonde version of Phoebe," Prue commented sarcastically. The other two chuckled at this, though Phoebe did send a mock glare at her sister. They would have to figure out how to help this cousin of theirs. One thing that being around the supernatural had taught them was that they were strongest if they were together. And you couldn't get more together than family.


	5. Kin Gathering

Lex Luthor walks into the small house and meets with the author of this story. Smirking he hands a small paper to the Texan. Grumbling slightly the Texan nods.

"Fine ya don't have ta sue amigo I'll say it."

"Good." The dark clothed man said, as a crowd suddenly appears on the doorstep. The author shoots a slightly murderous glance at the young Luthor, then and says loudly and clearly. "I the Texaswookie do not own any of the characters in this story folks. They belong to various people, and I'm not sure who they all belong to except that Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon. The various other characters belong to J.K Rowling, Warner brothers, MGM, and Marvel Comics and D.C comics."

"Did I forget any?" The Texan asks as the crowd disappears.

"The Luthor lawyers will be in touch if you did." The man says, before he jumps into his car. The rich twenty something year old, cranks the stereo levels up to near deafening and roars off. Leaving a scowling Texan behind him.

* * *

**Kin Gathering**

**Smallville High, Kansas**

Clark and Chloe were each at their own workstations, working on the Torch. While Clark had taken a new angle for the Torch, with his new monster infatuation, Chloe kept to the things that she could prove. While she would never admit it, Chloe found his new infatuation enjoyable. It was also the biggest interest in the weird her friend had ever had, since she had shown him the wall of weird. It also had the tall, dark and silent teen in her office, more often than not.

She had also seen that he was using one of those DVD rent through the mail programs, to watch nearly every monster movie there was. What was weirder though, was that he actually took notes about the various creatures. She had seen the notebook, full of various thoughts he had on the monsters. There were mentions of Frankenstein, mummies, leprechauns, werewolves and even things that she couldn't pronounce. Whenever she attempted to question him about the research, he just blew it off as something he was doing to pass the time, but there were odder things than that happening around the Kent farm. Mr. Kent had taken to practicing with a repeating crossbow, and had also taken to keeping his shotgun loaded with some type of police buckshot that contained wood in it. And when he wasn't practicing, she was sure that she had seen the older man going over the notes that Clark had made, with his wife. And when he wasn't doing either of those, she had seen him messing with a folder that he kept in a small safe.

Clark looked up from his report on the minor happenings at the school; while he was doing that, he had been making a file with various things in it. There were the vampire stories, the monster stories and everything that he could think of that could possibly be needed. He had found cyber dictionaries that people had set up, which held all of the information that they might need on strengths and weaknesses. While he didn't think he'd be fighting any mummies, there might be one around where he was planning on going. Their plans were nearly complete. They had tried to call, but all the phones seemed to be out of order, so there was no way of telling his cousin that there was help on the way. He couldn't help but wonder what else was planning on helping this evil thing. The only dealings with evil he had, were from Lionel Luther. He looked up to see the smug grin of his best friend, Pete Ross.

"Hey man, what's up?" his childhood friend asked. "You've been spending almost as much time here as Chloe. If I didn't know any better; I would say that something was up."

"Hey. Sorry, but I've been doing some personal research."

"Right," Chloe said teasingly from her desk. "Research that happens to include vampires and werewolves. C'mon Clark, I really don't think that even we have to worry about those sorts of things."

"You're the one that says I need to have more of a hobby than Lana watching," Clark defended. "And considering some of the things on the wall of weird… he continued, waving to the wall that held articles discussing the weird happenings that went on in their quaint little piece of the world.

"Yeah, well, all right," Chloe conceded, raising her arms in surrender. "Look, I'm going to go and get some coffee, all right? Can you actually get all of your work done before you start working on your new hobby?"

"Sure," Clark said, figuring that he could easily finish these reports and stuff before Chloe could get back from the Talon.

"Or, you could come with me," Chloe said suggestively, as she tried to coerce Clark into going to one of the few cool hangouts in Smallville. The farm boy merely shot her an annoyed look which quieted her instantly.

"Look, if all you're going to do is work, Clark, then I'm out of here too, Pete said, making a quick retreat out of the room.

"All right, see ya man," Clark replied, waving to his friends as they both walked out the door. No doubt, both would be talking to each other about his weird fascination with monsters and magic.

Clark had been working for several minutes at super speed, and had easily managed to finish his work for the Torch. Now he was working on a file about things like bog beasts and swamp monsters. "You know that this is hardly the best of ways to work, do you not, Kal-El?" a figure in the corner questioned.

Clark was startled as he turned to see the figure that was leaning against the wall, a figure that actually knew his other name. "Who are you?" he asked. The figure had somehow managed to not only sneak up on him, but also to watch him, for who knew how long. "And where did you hear that name?"

"It is the mathematical equation that summarizes who you are," the figure stated. "It is all very logical, if you just take the time to understand the equation."

"Who are you?" Clark asked again, even though the deep male voice was one he was beginning to recognize. But that was impossible; it couldn't be him, he was long gone.

"I am Jor-El of Krypton, your father, Kal-El Last Son of Krypton." The figure stepped out into the light, and Clark swallowed as he saw what looked like a broader shouldered version of himself. The figure had to be about twenty or thirty years older than he was, though he was unsure exactly how Kryptons aged, since he was still learning himself. Because of the wall Jor-El was still slightly leaning against, it was hard to guess the exact height, but he guessed a little taller than himself. The outfit was odd as well; he was wearing what looked like a wetsuit, with a green cape or poncho that came down to his ankles. He also had white ball like things on the edge of his arms and legs; they almost looked like they were coral, the way they all ran together.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" Clark asked, crossing his arms in skepticism at the figure. "My father's name is Jonathan Kent. Besides, Jor-El is dead."

"Good, you are showing the beginning of Kryptonian understanding, and the need for proof, before you begin to believe."

"I don't want, or need, anything from you," Clark said, his fists balled up in anger. "After all, why should I have to listen to some hypocritical person like you?"

"You refer to my own foolishly spent time on this planet."

"You think?"

Jor-El looked at the boy. "Tell me, Kal-El. Do you think I enjoyed having to run from lesser beings, such as those that reside on this planet?"

"I don't know what it is that lets you get your jollies, but I do know that you are going down if you don't start answering questions instead of…"

"Instead of what? Giving you more questions?" The figure shook his head in amusement and disgust. "Your inferior earth teachings show through at this time. Perhaps you should have been sent to Raan. Had I wanted you so savage like, I would have sent you to Thangar." The sound of approaching footsteps startled them both, though Clark was sure he saw a smug grin on Jor-El's face. "We will be in touch Kal-El, Last Son of Krypton. Just beware the words of people who claim greatness." With those words of warning, he was gone.

Clark shook his head as the figure was gone, and looked up as Chloe and Pete walked back in from their coffee break; they had even brought him a cup. The two were laughing about something or other as they walked in. "Hey, Clark, you all right?" Pete asked concerned as he saw the way Clark was looking around the room in confusion.

"Yeah, Clark, you look like you just saw a ghost," Chloe teased. "Is that what all of your research is really about? You think that you've found another ghost?" Clark merely glared at her.

"Lana saw a clone of her childhood best friend that could move at super speed. She didn't see a ghost."

"All right, sorry," Chloe said, rolling her eyes as Clark reacted the way he did whenever Lana was mentioned, despite the fact that she had told him in no uncertain terms that she wanted nothing more to do with him.

"Look, I have to go," Clark said. "Thanks for the coffee and all, but I just thought of something I have to do today. Pete, you think you can give me a ride out to the farm?" He asked his friend.

"Um yeah, sure, no problem," Pete replied as Clark shrugged into his jean jacket.

"You ok, man?" Pete asked once they were in the car, and away from their nosy, put everything down in print, friend.

"Yeah, great," Clark answered. "I just need to talk with my parents about something that I found."

"This have anything to do with your unique heritage?"

"No, someone else's heritage, so I really can't tell you." Clark hoped that Pete would let the matter drop.

"So, what? You found another alien that lives on earth?"

"Well something like that. It just isn't my place to tell this person's secret. But it is connected to the research that I've been doing lately."

"All right, sorry," Pete said as they pulled in to the farm. "Thanks for at least telling me that all of the monster research isn't just some new weird hobby of yours."

"What? You don't want to meet a creature from some type of hell dimension?" They grinned at each other before Clark got out.

After adjusting his backpack, and doing a quick check around them, he ran as fast as he could to his house. Pete just grinned as he watched the blur that was his best friend, disappearing down the long driveway. "Must be so fun to do that," he muttered to himself before starting his car up and heading to his own home, where he had a few chores of his own to take care of.

"Mom! Dad!" Clark called out as he entered the kitchen of the house.

"Clark, good to see you," Jonathan said smiling. "It's good you're here, we were just talking about the small trip we were planning." Jonathan took a quick pull from a glass of water. "The harvest will be finished next week, and I've arranged for a split with the Edwards. If they'll come and tend the land, and give us a ten percent cut of everything they grow, and a thirty percent cut on what the cows and chickens bring in, we might be able to scrape through the holidays."

"Great, so is everything good here?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. Why? Did something happen?" Jonathan asked, concerned for his son.

"I think I may have just seen Jor-El at the Torch."

"What?" Martha asked, startled by this piece of information. "Are you ok, sweetie? "

"Yeah, mom, it was just weird. He gave me a whole lot of questions to ask myself, and almost no answers."

"Clark, I'm not trying to put a damper on you seeing Jor-El, but are you sure it wasn't, say, the First?" Jonathan questioned, keeping his feelings about the man they were talking about to himself the best he could.

"It's possible," Clark admitted.

"But if it already knows were coming…" Martha started, worried about what it might try to do to her family.

"Then Clark will just have to be ready to leave next week. I'll be done with the harvest by then, and we can get on with the trip that we were planning." Jonathan replied.

The other two seemed to agree with the modified plan, their family needed them and they had to get ready. "Martha, call the school and let them know that Clark will be out for the foreseeable future, because we have to go out of state due to a family emergency."

"Have we forgotten anything?" Martha asked as she looked over the list they had made.

"Lex?" Clark said. "You know the minute I don't show up for school, that he's going to be over here to check out what's going on."

"Good point. Tell him we're going to visit some family." Clark nodded, glad that there was at least an essence of truth to that, and that he wouldn't have to worry about dragging his friends into his problems this time. No, this time he was getting pulled into someone else's problems.

* * *

**Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado**

Col. Jack O'Neill looked annoyed as he and his team walked into the office of General Hammond. "What do you mean, we're not going to be able to go with Finn and his team?" He practically yelled when he saw Hammond sitting behind his desk.

"Just what I said, Jack. You aren't even supposed to know what it is Finn and his people do. Just like he's not supposed to know where to find the SGC. Therefore, you aren't allowed to go with him."

"Look, sir, I think that I have a right to go. Besides, they're all regular army. Can you imagine what kind of mess they'd make this time around?"

"Listen, Jack, I think that you should be brought in on this as well, but the general who oversees this sort of thing is…"

"Wrong," a new voice interrupted as a man entered the office. "I'm glad you have such a high respect of your teams abilities, General Hammond."

"Sir," Hammond said," saluting the man in front of him.

"At ease, Hammond," the man commanded."Colonel O'Neill I'm…"

"The Secretary of Defense," Jack interrupted, easily identifying the man.

"Yes, well, it seems that the general who was originally in charge of this shindig was seen on multiple occasions having conversations with himself, so we decided to observe him. And while he seems perfectly normal in every other way, we don't want someone who is taking orders from his old C.O. running this campaign."

"His old C.O.?

"Yes, a man the general had a large amount of respect for, when the man was alive." The Secretary of Defense shook his head. "It's a shame really, when you get right down to it. A man like that should have been able to deal with this."

"Yeah, well, that didn't happen now did it," Jack said from his spot.

"No, it didn't," the Secretary replied, frowning at this admittance. "So, we'll just have to try something different. Here are your orders, Colonel." Jack took the file that was offered to him. "If you don't mind. I'll give you a brief idea what those say. Hammond and your team can hear, or we can go to another room if you want."

"It's all right, I trust the general with this. And they're my team; where I go, they go," he said as he snapped the folder shut.

"Good. Basically, those are your orders to put together a combined team which will be under the joint command of yourself and Commander Finn."

"Is that the gentleman who Jack told us about?" Daniel asked, curious despite his usual tendency to stay out of the command structure.

"No, but you're close. Riley Finn is second in command, while his wife is in command of their team."

"How does that work exactly?" Jack asked, his eye darting over to Carter for a moment, curious to the answer.

"Well, after certain things happened between people, we found it was just easier, especially when they started sleeping together," the man answered. "Of course, if you tell anyone that I said that, I will deny it."

"Oh yeah, sure, of course," Daniel said, blushing at this new piece of information. He adjusted his glasses so he wouldn't be able to see the pointed looks that he knew he was receiving from the others.

"So, I'll be working with a Commander Samantha Finn?"

"Yes. Do you think you can handle a joint command Colonel?"

"Yeah, sure, no problem," he replied, waving away any concerns the man might have. "Although, I would like to know who you had to shoot, for them to give me this command."

"No one, actually," the man answered, looking Jack in the eyes. "It seems that a lot of the nice people driving desks are hoping that you'll go crazy next. They can then order a napalm assault, putting a star in their crown, for dealing with a dangerous problem, and make some new friends by arranging for you to be gone."

"Some people just know how to be nice, don't they?" The Colonel said commented dryly as he tossed a ball into the air.

"Yes," the man said as he continued with the briefing. "Once you actually get on location, you will take orders from your niece, who is one of the best guerilla fighters around." Jack merely snorted at this, and Carter raised her eyebrows skeptically. "What?" The SecDef asked, grinning at them. "You don't believe me? Well then, you go and fight in a hostile area for six and a half years and hold the tide with minimum support. Oh yeah, and you have to start at the age of sixteen. And just for fun, say at twenty, you save an entire military installation."

Carter and Jack looked shocked. Sure they had read the reports, but they figured it must have been slightly overblown. But for some reason, the man in front of them believed it all. "If she's really so great, how come she hasn't been recruited?" Jack asked crossly.

"The military betrayed her, as you should know if you had read those files on your niece, Colonel, giving her trust issues with us."

"Great."

"She has had help from various people along the way," the man admitted. "But usually, she either comes up with the plan herself, or modifies already impressive plans, so that they'll actually work. Then there's the fact that it's her turf you're walking into. And despite all of those notes that everyone has been studying, they don't even take in half of what she has been forced to do on a daily basis. No, it's her sandbox. We're just lucky she lets us play in it."

"All right," Jack said, annoyed that he would be placing his life, and the lives of his people," in the hands of some girl, who would probably have to be coached through it all. It didn't mean that he didn't want to go, but it made things trickier. "I want SG-1, 2, 5, 6 and 9. That'll give me a group of twenty. All Finn has to do is field a team of twenty, and we'll be ready to start training."

"That's a lot of man power there," the SecDef said, "Unfortunately, it also sounds about the same as what Commander Finn wanted."

"Good," Jack replied . "Now comes the tough arguments." The man waved him on. "I want us to be able to bring the type of gear that we use on our missions."

"In other words, you want to be able to use the energy weapons that you have ," the SecDef man countered, a sick look coming onto his face.

"Well, sir, it would make sense. These things are supposed to be extremely fast, strong, and durable; they also have very few vulnerabilities. Being able to use energy weapons might help a lot. We may be able use staff weapons to cause their bodies to increase their burn rate, or multiple shots with a zat weapon might cause the body to disintegrate, like a normal persons would."

"She has a point," Jack said, agreeing with the argument that Carter had just thrown in. It was a good one, of course they didn't expect less than that from the Major. "Just give me the go ahead, and I will mow those things down right now."

"After a bit of group training, Colonel," the Secretary of Defense said in a way that brooked no argument. "That way, we can have a group ready to move out that knows how to use the toys that they've been given. Besides, your people will need to learn how to properly stake a vampire, and some basic knowledge on how to use the medieval weapons that are used in these kinds of fights. Now, some people, like Mr. Teal'c, the man nodded to the Jaffa respectfully, "already know how to use these weapons, and are familiar in several advanced forms of combat. Even better, the styles he uses aren't from Earth, so it's likely that no one will have seen his fighting style before, and that will give him an added advantage. On the other hand, a lot of the vampires and demons are known for either fighting with a animal like ferocity, or like some kind of cartoon super beings."

"Great," Jack said, still surprised at how easily he had gotten what he wanted, despite the weird chain of command they had given to him. "Is there anything else you'd like to add, sir?"

"Not at the moment. Though you can expect for the rest of your new team to begin filtering in tomorrow."

"Understood."

"General, you are allowed to use those people as either SGC teams, or internal security. It's your choice if you want to, though, since I don't think you're just going to let your SG teams get away without having any work to do."

"That's good to hear, sir," Hammond said, smiling as he shook hands with the man, before he left.

Once the man was gone, Jack looked at the folder in shock as he realized just how serious the military was taking the threat that his family had warned them about. "You know, I wish we could make people realize what we do is just as important. I mean, how many times have we had to disobey orders, just so we could save the world?"

"Yeah, but Jack, they kind of listen to you now," Daniel replied, trying to put forward a peace offering to his friend's way of thinking, without getting blown up at.

"That they do, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said, bowing his head in agreement.

"Yeah, that's great, Daniel, but…"

"But, Buffy, has only ever asked for our help once," a new voice interrupted as Riley Finn and a blonde woman entered. The woman looked O'Neill up and down a few times. "And as I recall, it was for help fixing something of ours that had broken, and was no longer needed. Don't start," the woman warned as she glared at Riley, who looked like he disagreed with that train of thought.

"And you are?" Jack asked as he leaned against the desk. "Cause I really don't remember introducing ourselves yet."

"You're right, the attitude must be genetic," she said. Riley merely chuckled as the woman turned back to the lead SGC Team.

"May I presume that you're Commander Finn?" Hammond asked, hoping to divert any kind of superiority contest. He inwardly knew that once both groups were made aware of what it was the other did, they would both be trying to one up the other group, by making their missions seem tougher, until they had experienced what it was that the others did. He didn't mind it really, so long as it didn't result in damage to his people or base, and that it was done as far away from his office as possible. Perhaps, even on a whole different planet he mused.

"Yes, sir," she answered, saluting briskly.

" you give us an idea of how you want to go about the training? I know you want us up to your standards, and I want you up to ours."

"Trust me, I think the stuff we use will be a surprise," the Commander replied.

"As will be the things that we will train you with," Teal'c said as if he was answering a challenge.

"Who, or should I say what, are you?"

"All that will be explained to you later," the Jaffa answered. Jack couldn't help but smirk.

"Well, let's get started on basic numbers, shall we?" Jack suggested as he led them out of the general's office. Once they were outside, Graham and another guy were there ready to follow their superior officers. Nodding for them to fall in, Jack led them all toward one of the conference rooms that over looked the Stargate. Once they were all situated, they started the meeting with briefings of their individual missions.

"So, while we deal with all of the things from beneath the earth, you deal with all the stuff that's above it," Graham said, simplifying everything they had told each other. He was still staring at the Stargate in amazement and wonder.

"You realize that was an answer worthy of Xander, right?" Riley commented from where he was contemplating everything that they knew of their fields of knowledge. "These Goa'ulds, they sound like a cross between vampires and some of the demons that we've run across. They're a little like some of the warlocks and mages as well, with all their little toys that they seem to have."

"And your various monsters sound like some of the beings that we've either heard about, or had dealings with, "Carter replied, answering the unasked question, if there was a disturbing similarity between the duties the two different units worked in.

"Well, unless there's something new to go on, I would say that the Ancients and these Powers that Be are either the same entities, or some type of off shoots of each other. It could even be that they are ascended beings that change things here and there," Daniel added as he looked over the notes he had taken during the meeting. He had been slightly disturbed by the similarities between their two missions. He also wondered, if he was really working for the right group. Sure his skills were highly valued at the SGC, but he couldn't help but wonder.

Riley looked at his watch and frowned slightly. "Does anyone else think it's bad that we just spent three hours here, explaining the basics of what it is that we do?" Jack immediately raised his hand, followed by Graham.

"You're right. We need some food, and then we need to start a planning session so we can figure out how exactly we can combine the skills of our two groups. Then we can take on the big bad First thingamajig

"Do you really think taking me on is going to be that easy?" A figure spoke, out of the shadows.

"Forrest," Riley and Graham said at the same time, swallowing as they saw the man, or what remained of the man, that they used to work with. It was harder on Riley to see this figure, which had, for a while, haunted his dreams. Forrest had been his best friend and partner for a large part of his time in Sunnydale. Riley remembered that even though he had been injured beyond belief, after going into withdrawal from Walsh's drugs, Forrest had still threatened Buffy with a half dozen machine gun toting soldiers, to see to it that he got the medical treatment that he needed, because he was one of theirs. Of course, that was before Adam had gotten a hold of him.

"Hey Riley," the combination of human, demon and machine said. He looked up and down at the group that was crowded around the conference table. "And this must be the beautiful Sam, he stated, turning to the commander. "Sorry I wasn't able to come to the wedding."He looked back at Riley, leering at him. "I see you still got a thing for the blondes though, man. I thought after the whole Slayer thing that you would have learned."

"Leave him out of this, Riley growled as he stood glaring at the figure. "Besides, shouldn't you be in Sunneyhell, terrorizing the Scoobies?"

"I suppose so," the figure said, shrugging as he stuffed his hands into his pants. "But I just thought that I should come and tell you not to get in my way either, Riley," Forrest continued, showing a faint trace of the Forrest the two men once knew. "Is that understood, Agent Finn?" It asked as it morphed from his monstrous looking friend into Professor Maggie Walsh.

The two former Initiative operatives tensed even more at seeing the old head of their project now addressing them. "Walsh," they hissed. The others cast worried looks as they saw the two men become almost rigid in a combination of fear and anger.

"You are a lot weaker now, Agent Finn," Professor Walsh said, ignoring the others in the room and focusing completely on Riley. "When I had you under my wing, you were able to fight the vampires with ease. Now," she said sadly, "look at you, Riley. A mere shadow of what I made you."

"Actually, I think I'm more of a person than ever, now that I have my body doing exactly what it should. And that's without the help of all your chips and drugs, as well," Riley shot back.

"If that's what you want to believe, fine. I shall have no trouble showing you how weak you truly are, Agent Finn." Then Walsh turned and looked at the others assembled in the room. "Yes" It said, looking at SG-1. "You will be fun to play with."

"Sorry, I prefer my girls to look a bit younger," Jack mocked. "Of course, you could always turn into that girl from Sin City, the one that went by Goldie."

The First ignored the sarcasm as it turned back to Riley. "Just remember, Agent Finn: from beneath you, it devours."

"I take it that was the First thingy?" Jack asked after the presence was gone, as far as they could tell, anyway.

"Indeed," Teal'c stated, staring at where the entity had been standing before them only moments ago.

* * *

**Xavier's School for the Gifted, Westchester, New York **

Alex Summers looked at the large imposing gates that guarded the school his brother taught at. He smiled and waved to the taxi driver, before turning to the bell at the side of the gate. He was about to press it, when the gates began to open on their own. "The Professor," the man said, smirking lightly as he grabbed his duffel bag, slung it over his shoulder, and began to walk up the lane that led to his home away from home. The small smile died on his lips as he thought of the other person that could have done that. Jean had been good for Scottie, and now she was gone. The telepath/telekinetic mutant had also been a close friend of his, as well.

He walked up the drive until he was standing in front of the mansion. The place seemed to have expanded since he had last been here, he noted. He saw all the kids around the place, some with obvious mutations, like the kid with the bird like wings, or the girl with the wolf like appearances. Others weren't as obvious, like the Asian girl in, of all things, a bright yellow jacket, and the blonde guy wearing some type of aviators hat. They were all here, though, to learn how to better to use their powers in a world that feared them for what they were. Alex shook his head sadly at the way the kids eyed him suspiciously. Those people of Stryker's had scared the crap out of these kids, and they were still jumpy a few months later. The fact that, to a lot of people, he was probably an unknown face meant that they would probably all watch him like little hawks. Maybe he should have brought Jamie. At the very least, Jamie could have entertained the kids while he and Scott talked about what it was they needed to do for their family; though he had an idea what needed to be done, thanks to some of the sources he had.

"Alex," Scott greeted his younger brother. The two young men wrapped each other in backbreaking hugs. "It's good to see you,bro," he said as he released Alex.

"Hey, it's good to see you, too."

"Use the nickname, I make you run the danger room," Scott threatened his brother before the two entered the school.

"Aw, what's the matter, Too Cool?" a man mocked as he stepped out of the shadows that looked to small to hide a child, much less this stocky man with the weird animal like hairdo standing beside them now. "Is the little brother too much for you to handle? Maybe he needs a good bit of discipline to behave.

"Logan," Scott warned, scowling at the other man.

Alex was too busy chuckling at the nickname, and at the thought that this man could take him. "You mean, she actually used your nickname in this mystery letter of yours?"

"Yes, she also used yours."

"So what? You make it sound like I've got something to be ashamed of," Alex replied, his grin slipping as he watched the man in front of him. He was still suspicious of him. Sure, he had heard good things about him from Xavier, Jean, and a reluctant Scott, but for all he knew, this small psycho lead the Weapon X people right to the school. And it would take a lot of apologizing to get him to turn his back on the walking can opener with attitude, even if he did seem to know just what buttons to push to get under his brother's skin.

"Alex, I'm glad you could make it," Xavier greeted as he came into the room. " I hope you don't think me rude, but time is of the essence. So naturally, we have very little of it at the moment. If you'll follow me, I'll take you to the briefing room."

The two Summers men nodded, and responded with a joint, "Yes, sir," knowing that they could catch up with each other later.

"Logan, would you gather the junior team in the Danger Room, and have them try again with the mission scenario? I believe that Kurt can help you, if you need it."

"Yeah, sure, whatever, Chuck," Logan answered. Alex stiffened slightly at the casual way that this person addressed the Professor, in his own home even. The Professor didn't reprimand him, but he did roll his eyes at the man as Logan fished a toothpick out of his pocket and placed it in his mouth. Scott grimaced at the image Logan presented. "Give it a rest, bub," Logan said, not even turning to look at Scott. "It could be one of my cigars." Scott nodded reluctantly as they entered the elevator.

After they had all exited the hidden elevator, Logan met a group of kids who looked both eager and annoyed to see the man, while Alex followed Xavier and his brother off to one of the meeting rooms. Alex set his bag down and turned to the Professor. "What is with that guy? He acts like he owns the place, and walks over anyone that objects to him."

"That is merely Logan's way of dealing with people," Xavier answered . "Although, he may have given you the brush off due to the fact that you are Scott's little brother."

"So they don't get along very well?" Alex asked. "Why am I not surprised? That guy appears to be the exact opposite of Scottie here." He couldn't help but compare his ramrod straight brother, to the slouching figure they had left in the hall with those kids.

"We can talk about this over dinner, or after you get settled in," Scott said, though it sounded more like an order. "Let me show you what we've got so far." Scott tossed the letter that he had received on the table; he then began briefing his brother on the job that was coming up.

"So, this is either a bunch of mutants trying to kill each other, or there's a actually a lot of magic being used." Alex looked at his brother, wondering if this was all just a big joke their cousin might be running, to scare them into coming to check on her.

"In the short run, yes, that is exactly what we're facing," the Professor said as he placed a teacup down. "Though I am optimistic about the whole magic part."

"Well, it sounds like a good idea then. And if someone wants our cousin, they're going to have to go through us," Alex stated grimly.

The other Summers man nodded in agreement. This First being, would find out how bad things got when you messed with their family. "The others should be almost done with their training session. I'm sure that you wouldn't mind watching for a moment." Alex nodded, he knew what Scott and Storm could do, but he didn't really have an idea of what the others could do. This would be a great time to find out. The Professor led them down the hallway and into another room that was used to observe the room below them. Logan was currently sitting in one of the chairs in front of the computer banks, while the kids that he had seen were fighting weird creatures.

"Guess little brother has heard everything then?" Logan asked, not even bothering turning to look at the three men as they entered.

"Yes, he has," Xavier replied as he rolled beside Logan. "How goes the training?"

"Well, since we're mainly having to use things from monster movies, not too bad," Logan admitted grudgingly. "Rogue has gotten better with those stakes we gave them. Colossus has just been punching things again; he really needs to go up against someone who's stronger than he is, or he'll never really learn how to really fight. The Popsicle has been showing some improvement, making those darts of his, and has actually managed a couple of those ice beams that you told him about last week."

"And Kitty?"

"The kid's showing a preference for the ninja sword. Fortunately, the elf has some sword training, so I can help the others while he does that," the short man replied as he gestured down to where the group was each fighting a different creature. Colossus was fighting three versions of what looked like Frankenstein; Rogue was busy trying to take down a pair of holograms that looked like they were supposed to be Dracula and one of his minions. Iceman was fighting with a vampire and Swamp Thing, while Kitty was fighting against Nightcrawler. Kitty was holding a ninja sword, while Kurt was holding a dueling sword. "They're both good," Logan said, watching Kitty duck under a swing and come up with a nasty gut punch. Nightcrawler back flipped onto the wall, eyeing Kitty carefully as she continued her attack.

"That is one dangerous girl," Alex said. "When did you start teaching that kind of fighting, Professor?"

"Logan taught her when he had to assist her with something, while her father was on a business trip in Japan."

"And what did you have to help the kid do?" Alex asked, looking at the man, wondering what someone like this could do to help one of the Xavier kids, when he wasn't trying to bash their head in.

"That's between me and her, bub," Wolverine growled, in a way that was obvious for a person to be quiet.

Alex decided to ignore the not so subtle warning. "But surely, something that she needed help with \would have been better addressed by the Professor, or Ororo," Alex insisted. "I understand that Ororo is particularly close to Kitty."

"Don't bother, Alex," Scott said. "You're just repeating all of my arguments "

"Kit can talk to whomever she pleases, but she won't be pressured inta it." Logan said; he then nodded back to the monitors that were showing the fighters. "John would have been great for this kind of thing."

"John?"

"Pyro," Scott explained to his slightly confused brother. "He's the Australian kid that Magneto recruited from us during the whole Weapon X fiasco."

"The one who decided to take on all of those cops?" Alex asked, his face darkening as he looked at Logan, as if that ordeal might have been his fault.

"Yeah," Scott nodded. "Drake's parents still aren't talking to him, despite the fact that it wasn't even his fault." Scott frowned as he recalled what he could about the current relationship between the Drake family and Bobby. The young mutant was only talking to the Professor, Rogue, and Wolverine about it. The Professor had told Scott he would involve him, if he thought it was necessary, but for the moment, the young teen just needed time to adjust. "The father appears to be coming around a bit, but there's still the mother and younger brother to deal with. The younger brother especially."

"Gentlemen, I believe we are getting slightly off track," Xavier said sternly. "Alex, how about a trial run in the room? More a chance to get in some target practice and show what you've got, than a training session."

"Sure, no problem," Alex replied, heading for the stairway that led into the next room.

"All right, you all did good. Colossus still needs to work on his technique and stop trying to bulldoze everything. Iceman, you still need to work on that aim of yours. If Colossus hadn't been armored, you'd have skewered him earlier. Rogue, you need to pay more attention to your aim as well, you had to stake that last one twice before it would stay down. Shadowcat, you need to not be so reckless with your attacks, and Nightcrawler; I want you to actually go at her, not at half throttle, you got me? That means less showing off and more actual fighting." The German nodded at the slight rebuke. "Good, now then, everyone into the control room. We want to see how the last member of our team stands up to target practice."

The others nodded and gave small smiles of greetings to Alex, as they passed by him. The younger Summers eyed the girls and Nightcrawler suspiciously, but shared a joke and friendly backslap with Peter. Logan rolled his eyes at Scott, but waited and watched to see how the other man preformed. He watched the guy as a small while dot appeared on the center of his chest. The targets came out and began heading toward the man. The guy's hands erupted into a kind of white light, with just the slightest hint of yellow, as a beam erupted from his hands and caught the targets. Logan watched the monitors as they identified the power signature, and began running analyses on the burst of energy. More probes took the place of the disabled pair and he fired again, this time after letting them buzz him. Logan grunted slightly at the theatrics the guy was pulling as he blasted this pair as well. "According to this, his powers may have had a two percent increase since he was last here," He commented, unimpressed by the power levels.

"Logan, I want you to try and be nice," the Professor admonished. "I don't know why you and Alex rub each other the wrong way, but I would like to hope that it is just jet lag, and that once he has had a chance to rest, he will regret treating you and the girls wrongly."

"He better be on his knees when he apologizes to the girls, Chuck," Logan said as his girls watched the man blow away drone after drone with curious expressions.

"Well, we don't call him Havoc for no reason," Scott said, watching his brother work his powers. The white ball on his chest glowed brighter, the more energy he put into the practice.

After about fifteen minutes more of practice, Alex was on his way to one of the guest rooms, his annoyed brother following him. "All right, Alex, spill. What the hell is your problem?" Scott angrily questioned his younger brother. "You've managed to treat half my team like crap, and now they're angry enough to shoot you in the back without a second thought."

"Sure they wouldn't have done that before?" Alex asked.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Scott said, bristling.

"I mean, that ever since you came across the Skunk and her backwoodsman, you've been having trouble. Those two attract trouble worse than anybody I've ever heard about. You ought to cut them loose before you lose anybody else."

"They've both more than earned their places on the team, Alex," Scott said darkly. "If it wasn't for them, every one of the people here would probably be dead. So, I want you to try and be polite. Besides, we have a whole lot to work on and we need to be united to do this." He handed his brother a computer disk. "This has all of the relevant information that we have. You did bring your laptop, didn't you?

"Of course. I'll study it tonight," Alex promised his brother. Scott nodded, and left.

"He's gone," Alex called out to the air.

"So I see," a voice said as a red head stepped out of the shadows. "I see they didn't let you look at the originals either."

"How can they be so foolish? It's obvious that that small, crazy guy doesn't belong, and he's corrupting a lot of the others. At this rate, I'd say that the two boys, McCoy, Ororo, Scott, (add comma) and the Profosser, are the only ones worth being X-Men."

"Then we'll just have to do what we can to keep them safe," Jean said, leaning against the dresser. "Are you sure about the boys, though? They are dating the girls, and emotions make people do stupid things."

"I'll handle that problem when it comes up. They're both too good to lose; let's see if we can save them first. Besides," he added with a cocky smile, "not everyone is as emotionally dense as Scott."

"It's your call," Jean said. "I just hope that we can save them. I'm worried about all of them. Hopefully, someday, I'll even be able to talk to Scott again, but for now I'm stuck with you." She smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes, though Alex was oblivious to the hatred that was shining in them instead. "Remember, the idea is to keep them here as long as possible so the dangerous monsters don't try to kill anyone else off."

"I'll do my best, Jeanie," he promised his dead sister-in-law."And you're sure Buff can hold her own for a while?"

"I told you, I'm checking in on her from time to time," Jean said, slightly annoyed at the thought that she wasn't watching the girl.

"All right," he replied before going to find some food.

The First smirked at the idiot mutant; he was almost as gullible as the stupid, bleached vampire. It had overplayed its hand with the alien, counting on his inner fear of his father, rather than on attacking his guilt, like it had done with Angelus. Although, the soldiers had been fun to intimidate, and were now far from where they should be in training methods; they would likely forget to inform their people of certain parts. Besides, a whisper here,a whisper there, and there would be enough red tape slowing them down, to make breathing difficult for them. "I do believe I have some other people to see before this week is over," It said, a small cackle coming from the beautiful face of the dead X-Woman before it silently disappeared from that part of the world, to reappear elsewhere.


	6. Kin Gathering & the First

The usual disclaimer folks none of these things belong to me because if they did I would be filthy stinking rich. (Check previous chappies for who they belong to)

* * *

**Kin Gathering**

New York

Connor MacLeod looked at the group of people now seated in his favorite sanctuary in New York over his art shop. He was curious if they would help him, for the most part they were Duncan's friends. Sure he knew of them, and what they were capable of, he had even met a few of them before, but of all of the Immortals here, he knew Duncan and Methos the best. Now he was going to be asking a favor from this group. By the old ways of his and Duncan's Clan, he could ask the favor, but he knew that people such as these didn't get as impressed by those sorts of things any more. No, he would just have to plead his case, and see if any of them would help.

"So, what was it that you wanted us all here for, Connor?"

"Yeah, we know something is up when you beg us all to come down here like you did," Amanda said. "I hope it's not another one of those crazy adventures you MacLeods are getting so famous for. Especially since I was on the verge of stealing this great piece of jewelry. I thought you were the one that liked to stay below the radar."

Joe snorted at this. "You know as well as the rest of us do, lass, that the Highlanders are nothing more than fancy trouble magnets. Course, I could say that about the rest of you, as well." He gave an amused glance at Amanda. "The others manage to get by on the money that they make, and be happy, but not you. You have to go and steal rare and precious things all the time."

She smirked at the teasing she was receiving. "But darling, there's just no fun in that kind of lifestyle. Besides, it also ensures that a lot of my Watchers are young enough to keep up with all the activities." The room was filled with light laughter as the two insulted and talked to each other.

Connor laughed along with the others. "I guess that would be my cue, now that you've all gotten over whatever edginess, you may be feeling about this meeting." He put down a stack of folders that had the information he had been mailed. Methos had gone through and pulled out all the irrelevant information, so they could understand quickly just what it was that they were dealing with. Some of the folders had different information, but that was because they were labeled for certain people. Like Joe's had everything about the Watchers, or Rachel's had mentions of what various artifacts had done. "What you are looking at is something that a friend of mine sent me. This friend of mine needs help."

"Help with what?" Richie asked. "The way you wanted us all down here, we thought that the world might be ending."

"Unfortunately, that is exactly what is going to happen, unless we help Connor's friend," Methos said. The words of the oldest person there stopped whatever smart mouthed comments any of the others might have had if Connor had said it.

"End of the world?" Duncan looked at his Clansman, wondering what the elder MacLeod had gotten himself, and what was starting to sound like the rest of them, into this time.

"Aye. It seems that the daughter of an old art student of mine is a super hero, and she's gone and made certain beings extremely upset."

"Sounds like an interesting person," Rachel commented.

"Sounds more like one of the MacLeods had a hand in raising her, if you were to ask me," Methos muttered, glaring at the two men who managed to attract more trouble than any Immortal had a right to. And when some person or other wasn't chasing them, they were trying to help some other idiot that had gotten in over their heads. He really couldn't complain too much about that last bit though, since those same heroics had occasionally saved his own head. Of course, he might have remained under the radar of most of those people, if it wasn't for their clan. They were both a blessing and a curse.

"Take a moment and read what that is, then give me your decision," Connor said as he went and looked out the window. Connor and Methos, having already made their choices, waited and wondered what the others would choose. Rachel seemed to find the idea of a female warrior, capable of the things that she was, particularly satisfying. The two Immortals by the window were having a whispered conversation about any other allies they might be able to pick up.

"What about this Angel character?"

"If he's not still mad about the last Immortal that he ran across. If that's the case, we'll have to deal with him and a very annoyed protégé."

"Why, what happened?"

"Another Immortal of my acquaintance, tied the two of them up, and spent the entire night with their enchanting traveling companions."

"So, they may not have any love for Immortals?"

"Not particularly. The only person that could probably help us is Gabriel."

"Who?"

"The person that introduced me to the world of Vampires. You may know him better by his storybook name."

"Storybook name?" Connor asked, surprised that an Immortal would have a name described like that.

"Yes," Methos nodded. "I've tried calling Van Helsing, but he never answers his phone anymore."

"Oh, Van Helsing Of course, how could I forget about him? Are you going to be inviting Blade along as well?"

"Who?"

"You need to get out more old man," Duncan said, nodding to Connor as he joined them by the window.

"Maybe," Methos shrugged. It was not the first time that the Immortal was unaware of some new trend, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

"You would know if you didn't insist on reading all of those thousand page books," Richie said, picking up a wooden stake from a nearby table. He twirled the weapon experimentally in his hand.

"Last I checked, I was better than Joe on a computer," Methos replied, raising his eyebrow at the man who was one of the youngest Immortals.

"Enough of this teasing stuff," Joe said as he stomped over, file in hand. "I have some questions. Like, what do we know about these other Watchers? Are they like the ones that I came from? Or are they an entirely different group? I didn't think a name that dull, would be that popular."

"We're not sure right now," Methos admitted. "I've been using my connections with our particular Watchers to try and figure out if there is anything that connects the two. So far, I haven't found a thing. So either our Watchers are oblivious, or they've hidden the information down so deep that only the top people know about any kind of connection between the two."

"That lack of information is disturbing, you know."

Connor turned to the others, who were still looking through their files. "I have some things that I need to take care of downstairs. Tell me when you have reached your decision."

The Immortal headed downstairs to see if he had any alcohol. Knowing the group, once they decided, there would probably be toasts to the fight. Once they got that part out of the way, they would want to get going. But he wanted to know as much as possible right now and was ordering various ancient texts that he had found, written in Sumerian and Babylonian, about various dark beings. Hopefully, one of them would have something that could help them with this First being they would have to fight. He nearly made it to the door when a man with blood running from his throat was thrown through it.

"Trouble!" Connor called up the stairway before three men in black robes attacked him. He was barely staying ahead of the men, each of who held a wicked looking dagger as long as his forearm. He slapped one blade out of the way, and ducked another. The attacks were erratic, but they were also slowing him down from joining the others. He saw more of the figures, over the shoulders of his opponents, beginning to come up the stairs. The numbers surprised him, and the momentary lapse allowed one of the robed men to bring his dagger down on his shoulder. Hissing in pain, Connor grabbed the figure that had managed to get behind him and swung him around so the other two daggers could hit him. While they were all momentarily distracted, he kicked the one in front of him and ran back upstairs. He gripped his shoulder, where the dagger had bit into him, as he ran back into his home. He pushed the heavy doors shut before any of his robed attackers could enter behind him. He then rushed into the room where the others were all talking, shutting these doors as well.

He glared at Amanda slightly as he threw his coat off to look at the wound. It would heal, but it would need time considering how deep it was. "So, Amanda, what did you steal from a cult that would bring them all down on our heads like this?"

"Nothing!" the other Immortal protested as the door behind Connor shuddered from the impact of several bodies hitting it.

"That door won't hold very long," Joe observed.

"It wasn't meant to hold off an army," Connor snapped. "It was made to hold one or two people off long enough for me to get to a weapon." He nodded to some of the weapons that were displayed around the room. Richie and Duncan were pushing a couch in front of the door while they tried to figure out what was going on.

Methos looked at Connor after a particularly heavy blow. "I think this is supposed to be a rather heavy-handed warning about getting involved in that war. You do remember reading about the Bringers, don't you?"

"Aye," Conner answered. "Though I was more interested in dodging all the weapons than in noticing if their eyes were there or not. The hoods make it kind of hard to tell as well"

"Well, since I don't think any of us particularly wants to live in a hell world, let's not let them think that they can just kill us." The watcher pulled out his gun and began checking the number of bullets it had, and the extras that he carried as well.

"It would be so much easier if you would though," a voice complained as a man stepped out of the shadows.

"Ramirez?" Conner questioned in surprise.

"Not quite," Methos said, his eyes narrowing. "It's the First."

"Right, on the first try," Ramirez said, clapping his hands sarcastically. "While some of you might have been easy to mess with, there are also those in your group that would have been expecting that kind of trick. Then there are those who are a little bit used to my methods. Right, Death?"

Methos didn't respond to the taunt as he helped the others brace the door with more furniture. "Can we help you? Or are you here just to gloat?" He asked.

"Well, you could all die, as in really die. But somehow, I doubt that you'd be willing to do that. Of course, one never knows when dealing with you, Death. The others were always so much easier to predict, but you were the wild card of the group."

"The others enjoyed the work we did, more than I," Methos replied. "Although I must admit, I never did think that I would ever have the problem of dealing with you again."

Ramirez laughed coldly. The laugh was the last confirmation that Connor needed to know that this was not his former mentor, but some dark being. "Leave him alone!" He snarled, drawing his katana. Moving quickly, he brought the blade down in a blow that sliced it open from shoulder to hip. If only it had been solid.

"Don't waste your strength, Connor. It's only an image of the dead, remember."

"Sorry," Conner replied as he glared at the smirking figure. He remembered the last time he had seen the person that this thing was impersonating. A man that died protecting his first love.

"Yes, Highlander. I can't be touched," the figure mocked. Connor shot it a final glare before turning back to the door. "What a temper he has," the First said appreciatively. "Toned with a certain sadness that seems to just swallow him. Certain people have done well in making his long life, hard."

"Leave him be," Methos said. "We'll deal with your foot soldiers, as well. Then, know that by attacking us here, you have ensured that we will all be going to help the Slayer."

"Then if you survive the trip, I guess I'll be seeing you there, Death. Who knows, maybe it will be an old home week for you."

"It's Methos, or Adam, now," the man said, knowing that it was pointless to argue, but that he might as well try before the figure faded from view.

Methos turned to hear one of the Highlanders swearing in Gaelic, Latin, Italian, and French. "Anybody that has died then, is fair game to that thing?" Methos just nodded as images of people passed through his thoughts. "The door won't hold much longer," he continued as he got himself under control.

"You're a master of understatement," Joe growled as he finished checking his guns. The others were fingering their swords and knives that they kept on them at all times.

"The door will break open pretty soon, Connor," Methos said, trying to calm the Highlander some more. "I suggest that while Joe shoots them, we rush them and try to get them to spread out." The others nodded in agreement.

The door burst open after three more hard blows. Richie and Duncan, who had taken positions to the side, easily sliced through the first two that fell through the broken door. Joe fired his gun into the crowd, over the heads of the two fallen Bringers. He watched as the first bullet tore into the knee of one and his second bullet went straight through an eye, or what would be an eye on a regular person. He stopped watching the damage he was causing after that, and just emptied his gun into the crowd. He dodged a thrown dagger before hiding behind a cabinet to reload his gun.

Rachel and Methos had been the first through the doors. Methos, with his large Claymore, was able to slice through the limbs of three different opponents, while Rachel's smaller sword slashed across the throat of another. Duncan and Connor went through next, rolling and coming up with their Katana blades shining. Their blades caught attacks that would have ended up in their arms, before the wielders were dealt with.

Richie looked longingly at the doorway that led to the fight, but stayed where he was. He knew that if the others became hurt, it would be up to him to pull them back in here until they healed. Besides there were still more and more people, if you could call them that, coming in through the door from the lower levels. At the moment, there were four per person, which meant that the others were all fighting about five of them at once. Joe stood next to him now that his gun was reloaded.

"We have any idea how many of them there are?" The Immortal shook his head as Joe lined up with one that was about to stab Duncan in the back. With amazing accuracy, he brought him down with one shot. "They bring a whole new meaning to the term 'whites of their eyes'," the Watcher commented as the Bringer fell.

Richie nodded; he narrowed his eyes as he watched Connor make his way into the kitchen area. "Watch both of the Highlanders, Joe," he said. The old man turned and watched as Connor stabbed one through the stomach, then surprisingly left his sword in the person. The man then began throwing kitchen blades at the others who had followed after them.

"Doesn't look like I need to," he commented dryly, shooting one that was trying to trip Rachel. She was busy punching another across the face.

"Well, that looks to be about all of them," Richie said as the last Bringer came through the door.

"Good, because they're getting tired, and I'm out of bullets," the Watcher said as his last one caught another of Duncan's opponents, leaving the Immortal with just four now, since the groups had reinforced each other where needed. Grinning, the old man picked up a heavy pole from the now destroyed table that had blocked the door. "What are you waiting for, boy?" the grizzled man growled as he headed into the fight.

Smiling, Richie headed for Rachel, figuring that of all the fighters, she would be the least angry for his help ' Methos and the MacLeods were born in warrior cultures, so maybe she will be slightly more forgiving of me,' he thought as he sliced his sword into one, only to feel a knife sink into his back. 'Figures,' he thought. 'I go to help the pretty lady, and she ends up saving me.' He felt the sword that entered the Bringer's heart go through his sword arm and he fell to the ground when she pulled it out. He watched Joe mercilessly pounding on one of the robed figures, and Connor walk out covered in blood, both his and that of the Bringers. Methos was leaning heavily on his sword, but they had managed to win, mostly due to the fact that these characters were not all that well trained. None of them were under any illusions; they had all seen war before, and they had just joined a new one as far as they were concerned.

"You have a week to get your gear together, and then everyone that's going will be driving to California," Connor said a couple of hours later, after they had finished bandaging their wounds. The others nodded in agreement. They were not people to fool around with, and they would fight this thing now that it was going after them. Besides, none of them particularly relished the idea of fighting with every being that they met in the city.

War had been declared on them, and that was something this First was going to regret ever doing.

* * *

**Hogwarts Library **

Hermione sighed as she looked at the books that were scattered around her. There were books here that were supposed to be copies of things that predated Hogwarts itself. Yet she still couldn't find anything on these Slayer people. It was seeming more and more likely, that somehow this Slayer, despite being a magical being, stayed beneath the Ministry's radar. It was as if someone was actively erasing records of these people! She had tried a different approach, and had found that even the names of most of the regular people were not registered as squibs. So that destroyed that idea. She was just glad that she had been allowed to check out some of the information on well-known vampires. She had found out about the vampire order that her cousin talked about, though the book seemed to have some things missing and the letter had told her more about the four vampires. Though, there had been a few trivia facts in the book that she had found interesting. The Order had been made up primarily of four vampires. The eldest was Darla, who was somewhere around five hundred years old , and a descendent of the Master himself. Her childe was Angelus; he was around two hundred years old with a reputation better than Voldemort's. His childe was Drusilla, who was around a hundred and sixty years old. According to the book, she had been a squib with the ability to see the future, but she was also insane. The last member of the quartet was Spike, or William the Bloody, said to be around a hundred and fifty years old and nearly as powerful as his grandsires. He was supposed to have killed two demon hunters; it was the closest thing she got to any kind of information on the Slayer.

How did they do it? Were they using Obliviators to keep the information hidden? Were the records she needed hidden in the department of Mysteries?

It had been a while since she had gotten the letters, and when Harry wasn't busy with his own workload, practices, or things with Dumbledore he was trying to help her. Though he was sure that Madam Pince was watching him all the time, because of that bloody book that he had gotten from Slughorn. Despite his feeling of need for the book, she was sure that Harry could do the work himself if he would just calm down and do the things that a regular schoolbook said. But that wasn't Harry's way, was it? No, he had to prove that he was worth the trouble that everyone thought he was. Personally, though, she was growing worried about him. She didn't think that he had mourned yet, and that he was just trying to hide from his grief, while Remus was embracing his grief whole-heartedly, making him unable to break through the tough exterior that Harry was projecting. She sighed, he wasn't even interested in the help that she had given him, even when she had told him that the book had belonged to that Prince girl. He still wasn't doing anything about it. It frustrated her to no end that Harry was doing that, and Ron was too busy either nearly getting killed, or making out with Lavender of all people, to help.

"Penny for your thoughts, little lady?" a familiar voice asked.

Looking up, Hermione swallowed as she looked at Sirius. He was casually sitting in a chair, grinning at her. "S-S-S Sirius?" She stuttered, shocked at seeing the figure that was supposed to be dead. "But you're dead."

"Seriously," the man joked, a grin on his face as he looked around as if searching for someone.

"But Harry saw you die."

"Says the girl who talks with ghosts a few times a year," the dark haired man said, laughing in his usual barking manner.

"How do I know its really you?"

"Let's see. During your third year, you and my godson had to rescue me from getting a kiss by stealing one of Hagrid's animals that was supposed to be executed, and flying up to the office I was locked in."

"But how come you're still in color? Ghosts are supposed to be imprints, so they're white, black, and gray. Although, there's a theory that the color represents life and…"

"Not sure," Sirius said, cutting her chatter off as she tried to analyze the situation. "But I never did like those black and white photographs anyways, so it's better this way," the Marauder said, grinning. "Unfortunately, at the moment I think the only people that can see me are you, Harry and Ron."

"That's odd; I wonder what could cause that?"

"Who knows?" Sirius said, shrugging. "And it's a crime really if you think about it. This beautiful mug, stuck with only three people being blessed by being able to see it. And what's worse, I can't even hold anything, so there's no making Snivillus's hair turn pink, or better yet red and gold." The man grinned, as he seemed to be thinking of ways that he might be able to do that particular trick.

"Honestly, Sirius, I swear you're as bad as the twins sometimes. Even when no one can see you but me and the boys."

"That may be, but I do know that you're trying to get involved in some dangerous stuff there," he said, pointing to the books that were on the table.

Hermione blushed. "Sorry, but I need to know how to help my cousin in California."

"Does she want your help?" He asked calmly, all traces of amusement gone. He looked at Hermione curiously, with a little bit of sternness that she wasn't used to seeing, though it briefly reminded her of McGonagall, scarily enough.

"Well, not exactly," she admitted. "But I need to figure out a way to help her."

"Hermione, the last time you tried to help someone, this is where I ended up," Sirus said, waving at his own body. "Now, I don't know all the details, but I think you should be careful about what you're getting yourself into, instead of going in half-cocked. That's why you're supposed to be the brains of your group."

"But…"

"I'm not saying don't do it, but I want you to think about it first. Is this why you were given this information?" Hermione shook her head in defeat. "Then maybe you should let somebody more used to this stuff handle it."

"And who would that be? The Order?" she asked sarcastically. "You know as well as I do, that they've become more and more focused on meetings than anything else."

"All is not what it appears to be, Hermione. Sometimes you have to go a little bit deeper to find what you are really looking for," the ghost, or not quite ghost of Sirius said. "The idea of a secret organization is just that, to keep everything secret. And last year, we needed information more than anything else. You lot have actually, in a way. been spoiled by the fact that your individual missions were all that you cared about. Unfortunately, the adults decided that it was time to cut you off because they were involved now. They thought that you no longer needed to be involved, because they could take care of it ," he said, posing slightly as if trying to look mature. "That is where they were wrong; you need to know the basics if you're going to fight."

"Do we have to fight?" Hermione found herself asking, despite knowing that she would fight alongside Harry and Ron. 'Who am I kidding?' she thought to herself. 'The three of us will be standing alongside Professor Dumbledore when the time comes.' Still though, there was a part of her that wished she didn't have to worry about these sorts of things. Like if the three of them were going to live long enough to see their twentieth birthdays. Longer lifespan her arse! They may age better, but it seemed they just had more people trying to kill them.

"You're the one that makes the choice, Hermione," Sirius said calmly as he got up. "I'll be around if you need an ear to listen Oh, and don't tell anybody that you saw me. I don't want to have everyone acting all weird if I'm in the room and they can't see me."

"All right," she agreed, wondering why the specter, or whatever he was, didn't want the others to know that he was around.

**Hazzard County **

"Jefferson Davis Hogg! Get that bum of yours out of that there bed and explain yourself! Right now!" A voice bellowed in the lavish room.

Instinct took over as the large man fell from the bed in his haste to respond to the voice that had once bellowed at him like that all the time, and was right in his ear like it had been when he was growing up. He removed the silk that covered his eyes to look at the bulldog like face of someone that was supposed to be long gone. It was a face he hadn't seen since he was thirty-eight.

"Papa? What are…? I mean how?"

"That doesn't matter right now, JD," the figure all but growled, glaring at his son while adjusting his jacket. "Just listen to what I'm telling you. And for once in your life, you nincompoop, I want you to follow through with it. Do we understand each other?"

JD glared as his mind finally woke up enough to understand what was going on. "I don't know what it is you think you're doing, but no one gets away with impersonating a Hogg! Especially not my father, Washington Theodore Hogg!"

"I'm glad your still Hogg enough to recognize me, Jefferson Davis." The figure had puffed his chest out slightly when his name was mentioned. "Now, will you be quiet and listen to me, JD Hogg? Or do I find someone who can take you out to that back room and tan your hide for me? Just like I used to have to do every time you let Jesse Duke beat you." Boss Hogg winced as he remembered those whippings. No one knew about those; not even his fat wife, Lulu.

"All right, so you're Washington Theodore, huh? What is it that I can do for you?" He asked snidely. "Because if you didn't have anything to say, then I'm going back to bed."

"Jefferson Davis Hogg! You will not sass me; I don't care how old you are." The figure was now purple in anger. "Is that understood?" The man nodded reluctantly, slightly scared, as he realized that this might very well be his father. "Good, now I want to know why the Dukes are still in Hazzard County? With all the plans you've had, they should be on the other side of the world. Instead, they've gotten themselves a bit of a goose egg going."

"What?! Well, don't worry about that, papa, I'll have them in so much debt that Daisy won't be able to argue if I want her to serve drinks in her underwear."

"I don't care about her. She's only part of the problem. I want you to get rid of Bo and Luke; I want them placed in prison so deep, not even that orange rust bucket they have will be able to jump that area. And I want you to deal with that piece of junk as well. And no more of that impounding junk that you do. I want you to take a bomb and blow that thing away, instead of pussy footing around getting rid of that monstrosity."

"Yes, sir," JD said, unconsciously saluting the figure in front of him.

"Good. Now then, let's see," the figure said as it began pacing the room in thought. If you can't take the farm from Jesse, then do one better."

"And what would that be?"

"Simple! You destroy it!" The figure practically yelled at him, making the fat man flinch slightly. "I really do wonder if you are a Hogg sometimes. If you can't manage any of that, which wouldn't surprise me with those pathetic excuses for lawmen that you have on your payroll, I want you to go and contact Dewey and Hughie Hogg. Maybe I can fix the three of you, before anything else happens," the figure said, settling for just glaring at its son. "It's a shame that the one Hogg worth the name is stuck in prison, but since he's a bit stupid when it comes to the Duke girl, maybe its better this way. Unless we can figure a way to make her part of his payment, control like that would be true to Hogg tradition. Now, I want you to think about what you know, and figure how to take care of them Dukes."

JD nodded as he began thinking of ways that he might be able to deal with this ghost that seemed to think that the only important thing was taking care of the Dukes. What about the fact that he was one of the richest Hoggs in history? Did that not count for anything to this ghost? He tried to remember everything he knew about his father and he began remembering a few things about the man. Like the fact that his father had been one of the worst Duke haters ever, and had actually arranged for several Dukes to leave Hazzard County in one way or another. Yes, it was time to truly follow his father's footsteps, and not a foolishly inspired friendship that while officially over, was still a bit there. WT Hogg smiled at his son when he saw the calculating gleam come into his eyes as he began to plan. Yes, he was ready to start on his true destiny. With a nod, the figure disappeared.

Smiling, Boss Hogg picked up his phone and dialed. "Roscoe, you numbskull! I want you to find something to get on them Dukes and I want you ready to start it the minute I get into the office! Is that understood? No, I'm not going to explain why, pea brain, I just want it done. Or I can easily divorce your fat sister. Good." He slammed the phone back down and crawled back into the bed. Hoping that the dipstick could find at least the glimmer of an idea that he could work with, because he knew that Cletus wouldn't be any help in this. He simply didn't have the mean streak that other Hogg's had, which was just a crying shame.

The First shook its head in amusement as it watched the fat pig go back to sleep. Hopefully, this would keep those farm boys out of its hair. It should have gone to see the sheriff in Smallville, now that it thought about it. The Sheriff did not like the alien, or its family, for constantly getting involved in her work. There was still that possibility, if it did something soon. Oh well, it still had other tasks to deal with, like getting that Winnie the Pooh obsessed potential to do herself in, which would be somewhat amusing, considering what it was that was pushing the girl like that. Maybe it should rub that into their faces, just for fun.

* * *

**Hogwarts 6th year Boys dorm **

Ron studied his essay one more time; normally he would have asked Hermione to go over it, but lately he wasn't sure that would be such a smart favor to ask, considering the fact that the three friends were currently at odds with each other. He honestly didn't know why he had decided to start going out with Lavender. Maybe it was the challenge that his sister had thrown at him, or maybe it was the voice that he sometimes thought that he heard, encouraging him to take what he wanted, and then be gone. There were times when the voice seemed stronger than others. He had briefly thought of talking to his father about the way he seemed to be acting, maybe even Bill and Charlie, but his father might want to talk about things other than that, and the entire trio seemed to agree on one thing: they didn't want to talk about that night at the ministry. And knowing his father, he would say that the pent up emotion from that night was influencing his decision-making. Quite frankly, he had heard enough of that bloody speech, all he wanted to do was ignore that train of thought. He groaned as he laid the quill down; he may have dropped the subjects that were no longer necessary to be an Aurora, but that didn't mean that they had to enjoy all of their remaining classes. Though on the bright side, he had finally been freed of having to deal with the tea bat. Too bad Lavender set so much stock in that rubbish.

He chewed his lip thoughtfully; he had to figure out how to deal with all of the things that were happening. He wasn't going to be the first to crack, no matter what, he promised himself.

"Looks like you got some problems kid," a strange voice said. Ron looked up; a figure that could have passed for one of the twins sat on the floor leaning against the wall.

"Who are you?" He asked suspiciously, his hand reaching for his wand, hoping he could stun the guy before he did anything.

"Well, I'm your Uncle Fabian on your mothers side, for some reason I've been granted a temporary pass to come down and talk to you. But at the moment, I can only talk to you, not anybody else in the family, not even your mother."

"Bloody hell," the red head moaned as he fell back against his bed. This was supposed to be his uncle? The man, who along with his twin, Gideon, had taken down five Death Eaters, before they were able to kill the two of them. They had been like Fred and George, able to anticipate each other; the only difference, though, was that his brothers were pranksters by profession, while his uncles had been fighters and strategists.

"So what appears to be the problem, oh nephew of mine?" Fabian asked as he looked at the teen, who was trying to grasp the fact that a man who had been dead for more than fifteen years was talking to him.

"The usual You-Know-Who stuff," the boy answered hesitantly. Even if this was nothing more than a joke, or something that one of the bad guys had set up, it wasn't like he was going to just spill his guts. No, he was too good a chess player to let something like this get to him. He would show this thing, or person, that it would take more than this to stop him.

The man winced. "Don't you just hate how that guy won't ever just cooperate and die already? I mean everyone should have one death, and one death only. Although, from time to time, it is helpful when people come back. Anyway, how bad of a strategist is he? He always goes for the kings first, before he even bothers with the knights or anything."

Ron nodded. "I know, he's always trying to take Harry out, who is the most protected guy in the world, when he should have been targeting the rest of us. Dumbledore is like the queen, while people like Sirius are somewhere between pawns and knights."

"Yes, but no one except you has noticed the way things are going right now," his uncle countered, a piece of grass dangling from his lips, giving him an almost farm boy appearance that was hard to copy, as he idly chewed the strand. "Now then, the question is are we on the smart side of the war?"

"What?"

"Sorry, I'd just rather not see my sister and the rest of you anytime soon." Ron nodded, looking thoughtful. "I mean, you know what it's like to worry about your sister when there's nothing you can do," he said as he thought for a moment. "But back to the fights that are to come. If you're going to stick it out through the war, then you can't let yourself be distracted, no matter how many things come up. You have to stay focused on the fights that matter, and right now the fights that matter to you, are the ones that have to do with You-Know-Who."

"But what about Hermione's cousin?" Ron asked.

"She was just warning you about something that might come up. while this whole war is getting ready to really take off. This seeming peace right now is only lulling you into a false sense of security. He's going to hit you where you'll least expect it. Is that what you really want?

"No," the red head growled.

"Then you can't let yourself be distracted," Fabian pointed out again. "Don't worry, you'll, unfortunately, get the hang of this mess sooner or later. But remember to give Potter his space, it's obvious that he needs it. He has a lot to work through, and knowing him, from what I've been able to see, the guy needs to work through this himself."

"Right," Ron said, glad that he and his uncle agreed. "Hey, I don't suppose you could help me on this potions essay?"

"I'm here to help you with important things, not to waste my time with things I barely scraped by in the last time I was here." The figure shuddered for a moment before disappearing. Ron got up; he needed to owl his mum about his uncle later. Ask about him and stuff, maybe he could find something that would help him determine if it was really his uncle's spirit, or something else. Maybe Hermione would know. Oh yeah. she was mad at him right now and Harry wasn't around to play the peacekeeper anymore.

* * *

**San Francisco **

"Hey, I'm back," Prue called as she entered the large house. Piper and Phoebe smiled as they met their older sister by the door. She had been spending even more of her time than usual at work. She was hoping to accumulate enough good reports so she wouldn't have to put her current job at too much risk when she disappeared for a while.

Piper had told her boss she was going to be out of touch for a while soon, and that if he didn't like it he could hire somebody new. She had told him though, that she would put in as many hours as she could, so that he wouldn't have to be too taxed, as she had politely put it. Inside, she had thought it was the best way to keep her job, and let the idiot think that she actually cared what he thought. She was just glad that he no longer tried to make her do the work of three people, but had hired a few new people to do things.

Phoebe hadn't really had to worry, since she didn't have a job. She was just going to be tagging along after her rather successful sisters on their family vacation. But where as she would rather be looking into various clothing styles, she was instead studying everything that they had been able to find on monsters of various kinds.

Prue had taken to looking for monster information, as well, by checking various artifacts and where they had come from. Sometimes she could use names and dates that had been recorded in the letters and records, to see if she could find anything about some of the characters that had been mentioned to them. There had been a letter that she had found, that had mentioned the Scourge of Europe as a group of murderers. An Irishman, that was thought to be slightly insane, was supposed to have led the group; other than that, there hadn't been a whole lot that had been easy to find.

Phoebe had found more in the Book of Shadows, much to the displeasure of her older sister, who had been out researched when it came to this subject. The thought that an ancestor of theirs had actually met or come across the group was kind of scary though, they had all admitted, after reading the more impressive facts about the group. The Scourge had been recorded in graphic detail; it had even mentioned the tattoo that the leader was supposed to have on his back, that marked him as a member of the Order of Aurelius. "So, what did you find today?"

"That there is always something, or somebody, after us," Prue grumbled said grumbling. "Cole Andy is still being a jerk about the whole running off thing."

"Let me guess, your makeup coffee got interrupted."

"Yeah, one minute we're having the time of our lives, just being us. Then a minor warlock thought it would be fun to try and throw a few spells at me, and I had to pretend like it was nothing when he was taken in." The other two shook their heads in sympathy as their sister described her relationship troubles.

"Anything on the supernatural side?"

"Not really, but there does appear to be an increasing number of people leaving the town, on vacations and stuff, where are beloved cousin lives. But that's only a rumor at the moment; I'm trying to figure out how close to the truth is right now."

"With a business like the one you work in, you'd think that talking to another specialist would be easy."

"You'd think so, but the only people who might be able to help me are in LA or England, and all the people in England seem to have disappeared, and my boss says that it might be dangerous at the moment to talk to anyone in LA. He's asked that we try not to get involved with them right now."

"Was there a real reason, or was he just being odd?"

"He mentioned something about a cult that was spreading all over the place, but other than that, he didn't say much."

"Weird," Piper commented.

"Yeah, so are we about ready to get this show on the road?"

"Yeah, we just have to decide if we want to take the Book with us and a few other things, then were just about ready."

"Why wouldn't we want to take the book with us?"

"Well, you do remember those guys that tried to steal it when dad came around right?" Phoebe asked, grinning at the fact that she knew about a potential danger before her sister.

"True, but we won't be much help without the book, though," Prue argued. "So, it would be better on all of us, if we take it, or we might as well not even bother going. Because I think that we'll need to provide all the muscle we possibly can. Which means that we need to bring the Book with us."

"Says the only one of us capable of doing anything helpful that doesn't require the book," Phoebe shot back.

"Look, it's not Prue's fault that she's the only one with a power that will hurt these things," Piper interceded, not wanting to listen to their sister complain that she was the only one that was stuck without a cool offensive power to use, and instead got stuck just having visions.

"But it's so unfair," Phoebe whined at her two sisters.

"Forget about that kind of nonsense, dearies," a voice said, and they turned and looked up the stairs to see someone they had never seen before. "Your battle is not with the creatures that she fights anyways. Your fight is with the ones that are drawn here. If you leave, who will help the people here? Do you think it a mere coincidence that since you've gotten your powers you've run into problem after problem?" The woman shook her head sadly. "No, I'm afraid that is not the real answer, though it may be the one that you want. The true answer is that you are now Champions of light, and your battle is here in this town, not there."

"Who are you?" Piper asked as she glanced around for a weapon, just in case their powers didn't work against this woman, who seemed to know more about their powers and abilities. Since she was blocking the way to the attic, there wasn't much of a chance of getting up to the book and asking it for help, or at least for a good protective spell.

"I am one of your ancestors, child. I too was once cursed, and blessed, to be a witch, just like you now are. It was long ago, when people were even more scared of the supernatural than they are now, that I fulfilled my duty."

"Cursed? How was being a witch a curse?" Prue asked, curious what kind of answer she would receive from this specter. Maybe this ghost could explain things to them enough that they could be better prepared to handle the various demons and warlocks that came out of the woodwork and tried to kill them all the time.

"By becoming witches, the Charmed Ones specifically, you have all but put targets on the front of you that the entire dark mystical world can see. You will be placed into fight after fight until you finally die. Very few witches are allowed the pleasure of growing old like your grandmother. In less than five years, I see at least one of you girls dead, from one fight or another."

The three sisters swallowed uneasily at the thought that one of them might die in just a few years. "And I thought my visions were bad sometimes," Phoebe muttered. "Um, question? If you're an ancestor, are you a ghost or something like that?"

"You could say that," the woman replied, a slight grin on her face. "And I have been watching over you as best I can, but there is little I can do right now to help you. But this looks like a time that you need advice, before you do something truly foolish."

"What? Going to help our cousin?" Prue shook her head at the woman. "I disagree with you on that. In fact, by making the family larger and more connected, we actually are likely to be more powerful."

The woman laughed at her, while the other two shook their heads at the ghost, specter, or whatever it was. Nobody with half a brain laughed at their older sister like that and expected to live. "Good thing she's already dead," Piper commented to Phoebe, who nodded in agreement.

Prue glared, almost defiantly, at the figure now. Her temper now getting the better of her as she clenched her fists, and barely resisted the urge to send the small table flying into the figure. Just to test how solid this ghost was. "How do we know you're not the First?" She asked. "Trying to keep us out of the fight?"

"Simple, child," the woman answered, seemingly oblivious to the anger that was radiating from the young woman. "If I was the First, I would have come to see you as your mother or grandmother, not as some unknown ancestor. But I was the guardian chosen to watch over you, and see how you dealt with our legacy. And if absolutely necessary, make sure you didn't do anything too stupid, that you weren't ready for. Like taking on a being that is older than time itself, and is mightier than anything that you've ever seen before. Even this Slayer relative of yours will be hard pushed to fight such a thing, and she has several years of experience."

"Everyone needs a bit of help from time to time," Phoebe argued. "Even Prue, when she actually admits it."

"She has her companions for that," the woman countered. "She has her own ancient power, that predates your own, the power of an ensouled vampire, one of the most powerful witches, after yourselves of course, A young man with an uncanny ability to survive and a great head for tactics and unconventional thinking, the descendent of a former Slayer, and a watcher whose name is still feared in the streets of London. No, when it comes right down to it, we should leave the saving of the world to the professionals. You're not quite ready to go to bat the way you are now, but someday you will be"

"Maybe not," Prue said, her voice now hard with anger. She really hated to be belittled by people that didn't know her, family or not. "But like Phoebe said, everybody needs a little help from time to time. And if you know about the various people that help our cousin, then naturally the people that they're fighting are going to be expecting them. Where as, we're still new enough to the game that we might be able to provide a few surprises that could be needed."

The woman looked unconvinced. "That is not the way this works, child," the woman said, obviously getting annoyed with the headstrong witch. "You need to stay here and deal with the creatures and warlocks that come here. If you leave, there is a chance that they will destroy many of the things here. There may not even be a town for you to come back to."

"We've already made our decision," Piper stated, finally speaking, now that she was sure that her sister wouldn't accidentally throw something at her, just by looking her way. "Besides, this town has managed to survive all these years without witches guarding it, it can survive a month or so without us. We're all going to California to help our family. Who knows, we might come back even stronger for it."

"Perhaps. Of course, it's more likely that you will never come back at all, and there will be no one left to protect the people of the this world. I hope that will be your dying thoughts," the woman said as she disappeared, leaving the three of them alone with their thoughts.

"Are we doing the right thing?" Piper asked hesitantly, after they had all moved into the kitchen to get drinks.

"Ask me after this is all over," Prue replied as she put her head down and closed her eyes, exhausted from holding all of her power in, as well as spending all the time that she had at work. She tiredly gripped her cup of coffee as she considered all aspects of the conversation. Was she doing the right thing, leading her sisters into a fight that wasn't even theirs? Usually the only times they did anything, was because they had been attacked. Sure, they had caught the gangster that had used the kid Piper had met, and the whole wedding incident. But those were the only times where they had really been the aggressors.

"Hey," Piper said, grabbing her sister's hand. "We're doing the right thing here. Don't worry about it."

Prue smiled at her sister. "Then why do I feel like I made one of the biggest mistakes in my life?"

"Might have something to do with the whole arguing with some old lady that's been dead for who knows how long."

"Around a hundred and fifty years, judging by her clothes," Prue said dully as she drank from her mug.

"Sometimes it's just freaky the way you do that," Piper commented refilling her cup.

"Besides, why are you worried?" Phoebe asked. "It's not like we've ever done things the way we were supposed to anyway, right? So going to help our cuz out, should be just about right for us, right?" The three sisters all grinned at each other and realized that were even more convinced about doing this now than before.

**

* * *

**

Hogwarts, Far Side of the Lake

Harry watched the squid splash around for a moment before he looked back down at the list of defensive spells that he had with him. Most people probably wouldn't be surprised to see him with a pile of DADA papers since it was not only his best subject, but he was also the Boy-Who-Lived; he had to know these things. Harry was currently looking at the list that had fire spells on it. The incendio spell, while good, might not be enough to hurt vampires. He needed other spells that would help him combat them. It was almost a shame that no one had taught him the way to battle those sorts of things. You'd have thought that with a racist like Umbridge, her stupid theory books would have had something like that. He had checked his third year books and had managed to get a slightly better idea on spells that would hurt them, and might even kill them if he could keep the spells up long enough.

"Studying again, eh, Harry?"

"Yeah," Harry replied not really looking at the figure that was sitting down beside him, other than noticing that he was wearing Hufflepuff yellows.

"Gee, I suspected a bigger welcome than that from you, Harry. Especially after the whole dying thing, you know."

"Huh?" Harry looked at the figure and practically fell over as he realized who was sitting next to him. " Cedric? But your… I mean I saw…"

"Easy there, Harry," Cedric said as he watched the other boy gape at him in shock. "I'm not really here, and there's only a few people that can see me. I'm not actually sure who can see me right now, to be honest."

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked as his hand began moving toward the other boy.

"Don't do that. I'm not here in that sense," the boy, who now looked like he was the same age as Harry, \which in a way he was, said. "I mainly came to make sure that you're focused on the right things."

"I try," Harry said shrugging, feeling uncertain as he talked to the boy that he had watched die. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"For what?" Cedric questioned. "For me getting killed by someone neither of us could see? You got my body back to my mum and dad. I couldn't ask you to have done more, as a matter of fact I didn't. And as for fighting Voldemort, you've done really well at that. Just don't forget that you can't stop." Harry nodded in understanding. He knew that the others were tired of their adventures, as much as, if not more than, he was. The only difference was that they had the choice to walk away. He Harry was in this no matter what.

"By the way, thanks for at least trying to be nice to Cho," Cedric said. Harry began squirming uncomfortably when the seventh year girl was brought up. "Don't worry. I know about that great date that you had." Harry was now swallowing uncomfortably. "But the thing is, despite how much I might have cared about her, Cho was a bit of a user. She may have cared for me, but I also know that there was no way she should have been able to bounce between boys so fast. I sometimes wonder what it is that she plays at."

"Maybe she doesn't want to be hurt again," Harry offered, trying to find a different way of looking at it.

"Maybe." Cedric shrugged, a wistful look on his face as he seemed to be thinking of Cho. "I'm just sorry that you had to be the rebound guy. It was kind of obvious that you liked her. But you pulled back faster than anything I've ever seen, when you finally realized that we were together."

"She was your girl ," Harry returned, as if that answered everything.

"The courage of a Gryffindor combined with the loyalty of a Hufflepuff," the other boy said, shaking his head. "I think you might have been thrown into the wrong house."

"Thanks," Harry said, glad that he was able to now look into the face of the boy who had died right in front him.

"No problem. Now, let's get down to why I was told to talk with you in the first place."

"I had a feeling it was more than just a bit of girl trouble that you needed to talk to me about," Harry tried joking. "Cause if that was the problem, they probably would have sent my dad."

"You're right. It's about this whole cousin thing of your friends. Do you really think that now is the time to go and get involved in another war, when you're barely even making a difference in this one?"

"It's what I have to do though," Harry argued. "Maybe I still have a saving people thing, but I also know that I have to do things this way."

"Did people die so you could run off and get killed in something else before you deal with Voldemort? How many more will come between you and death before you get that through your head?"

"At the moment it's four, Cedric, and not a day goes by that I don't think of each of them in some way or another. But I can't let Hermione do this sort of thing on her own. I have to be the one to help her now, like she's always done for me.

A look of annoyance briefly crossed Cedric's face before he turned back to the Gryffindor. "Are you so sure that this is what you want to do? You can't just jump from war to war and hope that nothing goes wrong. Trying to fight on multiple fronts is dangerous, and it's not something you should even consider."

"But Cedric, if she fails, then what's the point? The world will be ruled by hell beasts if I don't help."

"Be careful, Potter. You're on a pathway that is littered with dangers you may not walk away from. Then where would all of the people you claim to love be?" Harry didn't know what to say to this and watched as Cedric started fading. "I'll be back. Try and keep this conversation quiet , all right? And do a quick check on Cho for me. "

He was gone. Harry was more confused than he had been in a while. While a part of him didn't want to think about what Cedric had said, the seeds of doubt were now in place. And what if someone else died this time? What if it was one of the Weasleys or Hermione? Maybe it would be Hagrid, or even worse, Remus. Who was he willing to risk next? Harry sighed as he glanced at the dropped parchment that held all of the information for fire spells. Spells he didn't need to look at right now since he was so lost in thought.

The First smiled; the three teens were so confused after its visits that they didn't know who to trust anymore. Soon things would come about, plans that one of its lesser minions had already set into motion over here would take fruit, and it would find the people here even more disorganized than they were now.


	7. Balancing the Scales

The author considers ignoring anything that Luthor might say, when an unfamiliar sound comes behind. Turning, the author see four Jaffa in armor with zat gun's, and staff weapons pointed at the author. "Jaffa Kree!" One orders to his companions, as all the weapons charge up ready to fire.

" All right, all right." The author says, quickly typing in the disclaimer.

"I do not own any of the universes that I am writing about. They are the property of various people and I'm tired of writing all of the names so read past chapters for who the various owners are."

**Balancing the Scales**

* * *

Smallville: The Talon

Clark smiled when he saw his friend. Lex Luthor may be the resident pariah to most people in Smallville, but to Clark, he would always be considered one of his best friends. He was still uncomfortable in the Talon, but as long as he made an effort to talk to his friend outside of there, or in his castle, there wouldn't be any problems. He and Lana were still working on what their friendship was, sometimes it was good, and sometimes it wasn't so good. The shaky friendship was part of the reason that he was trying to keep his nose out of his friends business when it concerned Adam.

"Lex! Good to see you," Clark greeted his friend as Lex got out of his car.

"Hey, Clark, what's up?" Lex asked as he removed his sunglasses, before shaking hands with one of the only people in this entire town that was willing to look beyond who his father was and see that he was actually his own man.

"Not much. Just came to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?" Lex questioned, his face taking on a more neutral appearance as a small bit of dread entered his stomach. Had the farm boy finally been swayed by the opinions of the other people in this town? Clark had seemed strong enough to hold up to the peer pressure of being his friend, but maybe the strain had gotten to be too much, even for the ever faithful, unsung town hero. He had personally always thought that the two of them would be together for a long time.

"Yeah, my family is going to a reunion, and we have to leave before school's out."

Lex relaxed a little bit as he realized it was a trip kind of goodbye, not the kind of goodbye where a person would see you across the room, but pretend they didn't know who you were. "Really? I didn't think that your father was the kind of person to let you get away with that kind of thing."

"Yeah, I know, but that's the way things went this time around; so I'm not exactly going to be looking at a gift like this the wrong way."

"A wise decision," Lex said, nodding. "Maybe I should buy the lucky person a drink," he offered as he tried to steer Clark toward the coffee shop.

"Thanks, Lex, but I have to go and finish packing my stuff," Clark replied, looking slightly nervous now as he eyed the inside of the building.

"Your call," Lex said, shrugging as he took his arm off of his friend.

"Thanks," the relieved teen replied, knowing how stubborn his friend could be sometimes, when he was trying to push him in a direction that he wanted Clark to go. "Look, Lex, can you…"

"Yes, I'll keep an eye on Lana for you, Clark," the pale skinned man told his friend, assuring the farmer boy, who was way too responsible for his own good as far as Lex was concerned. A part of him felt guilty that he was part of the reason for the dream couple breaking up. It was especially irritating when you considered how much time he had spent trying to get the two of them together in the first place. But everyone had his, or her,) odd things and secrets; that was part of why he liked the Kents. Sure they seemed like simple farmers, but they were so much more. His father didn't let just anyone be his personal assistant, after all. And then there was the power that Jonathan Kent seemed to have, a deep sense of responsibility, and a person that seemed to deserve respect; where as his own father had to buy that very respect from the same people, and usually they hated him. But Mr. Kent actually earned peoples respect, and that was why he protected the Kents, because he respected them.

"Thanks again. and tell them I'll be back as soon as I can," Clark said, grinning before he ran for the beat up truck that his family used.

Lex shook his head as he saw Lana come out just as the truck pulled out. 'The guy faces crazy people and mobsters all the time, but he won't, or can't, face the girl of his dreams.'

"Lex, what did Clark want?" she asked, curious.

"Well, he said to tell you he was going to miss you incredibly, but that he's got to go and do some kind of big Kent family gathering."

"Oh," she said. "Well, all right." The girl turned to go back in, a look of uncertainty on her face.

"Hey, this is Clark we're talking about," Lex reassured her. "You know the guy that only gets into trouble when he's trying to save someone's life? So we should be okay, as long as he doesn't feel the need to go on one of his life saving bouts, all right?" He looked the girl in the eye before he headed inside to get his usual drink, and to help preoccupy the girl from getting emotional about Clark leaving without saying goodbye to her. 'And to think, they weren't even dating.'

* * *

**Westchester, New York: Xavier Mansion **

Alex walked into Bobby Drake's dorm room and looked around the room. The kid had mainly cold weather gear in the closet, despite the fact that summer break was only a couple months off. Poor kid had to always try and stay warm; it had probably been why he had fought so much with that Pyro kid. The two probably made each other nervous, since their abilities were nearly exactly opposite of each other. It was actually pretty amazing that the two of them had seemed to have a sort of rocky friendship as it was. Alex didn't know what the Professor had been thinking when he had teamed the two of them up, but he did know that people seemed to act the way their powers dictated, meaning that the Professor probably thought that he was doing the right thing when it came to pairing them from time to time. The man had probably thought that he was teaching them tolerance or something. It might have worked, if it hadn't been for the Southern girl that nobody could really have, according to what Jeanie had said. The girl had, maybe without knowing it, split the two up, and he was still unsure if she meant to or not. Two of the most powerful elemental students ruined, one devoted to Magneto because of the girl, the other probably split with his loyalty to the Professor and the girl. If the girl was loyal to the Professor, he might not mind, but her loyalty was split as well. She considered the killer, as almost an adopted father. The fact that said killer had taken to using the mansion as a place to come when he had more trouble then he could handle, and then asking the Professor to fix his problems before riding away without so much as a word of thanks didn't seem to matter to any of them. No, the man was using them, and the sooner Alex got the others to see what he was doing, the better. He really didn't care that the man had been used as a governmental lab rat. For all they knew, he had been some kind of criminal that deserved the treatment, especially with the casual way that he killed people.

"Drake," Alex said, putting on what he hoped was a convincing smile. He would have to do this carefully; he wanted to help the kid, not make an enemy out of him.

"Hey, Mr. Summers," the teen greeted, looking up from the homework he had been working on.

Alex winced at the name. "Mr. Summers is my brother," he said, grinning. "Not me." The boy just grinned slightly, and nodded. "You almost ready for that test tomorrow?"

"Yes, sir," the teen answered, nodding. "I have a study date with Rogue later on."

"I see," Alex said, frowning. "Maybe you should find someone more interested in studying, if you want to keep your average up," he suggested.

"Nah, we're both doing okay. Despite the accent she has, she's actually pretty bright." The boy grinned a bit at the thought of his girlfriend, not noticing the way Alex was responding to thoughts of the girl.

Alex sighed. 'Great, the boy's smitten. This is going to be even harder than I originally planned.' "Bobby, don't you think you're moving a little fast with this girl? She hides so much of herself; you don't even know all of her story to know if what you're doing is the right thing. What if there's more to her than she lets us know? And let's not forget that she's had Magneto in her head, that's what that white streak stands for, and she had that crazy guy, Logan, stuck up there as well. She's dangerous, kiddo, and should be treated like that, not as some everyday mutant."

"But…"

"Look, you think I like the idea of all the criminals that the Professor is hiding?"

"What criminals?"

"There's that Logan guy, who has broken more than enough laws from what we do know of him, to get him thrown in jail. Then there's that Wagner guy, who looks like some kind of monster out of a comic book. The President wants him for questioning I understand, maybe even charges on assassination. And of all the people that know about these supposed monsters, it's an assassin and a man who supposedly has no memory of who he his." Bobby frowned slightly as he considered what the younger Summers was telling him. Sensing he might be making the boy consider what he was saying, Alex continued. "What do we know about them, Bobby? The only person that they talk to is that Pryde girl, who seems to be about as dangerous as a viper in tall grass these days." Alex placed a comforting hand on Bobby to show trust, instantly wishing he had a pair of gloves on.

"I'll think about it, sir."

"Just remember that the main reason you left your family was because Rogue wanted you with her. If she hadn't been there, do you think that you really would have left them there? After all, the police weren't even pointing weapons at you, but at the others. They were the dangers, Bobby, not you."

"I've got to go," Bobby said, gathering his books up, but he paused by the door."You might want to be a bit more polite when you talk about Kitty to Peter, or he's likely to throw you into the wall." He then left to be with his girl, despite the fact that he was actually a bit confused by what he had heard.

Alex nodded. Now there were just a few more things to do. Jean had told him that he needed to keep them away from this place in California. That would soon be easier said then done, though. Still, no matter what was said, there wasn't a whole lot the Blackbird could do against a blast of cosmic energy, and that would keep them all grounded for a while at least. He still had to try and talk to the Professor, Scottie, and the Russian kid, about keeping their distance from the people that Jean had warned him about. It was actually a shame that Kitty was amongst the ones that was a threat. She had always been one of the more interesting kids around the place. Still though, the Killer and the demon had gotten to her first, and there was nothing more for him to do about it at the moment. Except to wait and see where they went from here. He wouldn't be surprised if they tried to backstab the whole lot of them when they least expected it. Besides, Jean had told him how Logan wasn't going to hang around for the greater good when he could do his own thing. He had definitely proved that at the Weapon X facility. Sighing, Alex walked out and decided to visit the hanger; after all, he had to keep them all here. He didn't hear the mocking chuckle in the back of his mind as his actions were watched with amusement.

**

* * *

**

Unknown Location

The First rolled the eyes of its current form as it found the witch coven that it had been searching for. The First cursed everything it could to itself as it watched them do their mystical rights. The coming battle would have been perfect for Shurga, but that Slayer bitch and her friends had taken care of her already. Besides, Shurga had always been too obsessed with gaining access to the Source to make a good pawn. But since she was gone now, the Slayer had killed her before she could obtain it, and had actually managed to kill Shurga permanently. So, it was now up to the First to find someone that could fight some of the mystical might that the Powers that Be had arranged to come up against Evil's powers. Now it was being forced to arrange for other beings to assist it. Some of the beings that it could have asked were unusable though, since so many of them wanted to rule this dimension. Personally, the First didn't care who led the forces of darkness in this reality, but the darkness in this reality was just too disorganized to work well together without the First getting involved.

The First watched for a moment as the coven was in the process of summoning some minor demon to do their bidding. Didn't they know that the only way to truly summon a demon was to sacrifice a virgin? Several of the weak witches here would be perfect for such a thing, or better yet, offer these witches as the concubines for said demon; some of them needed to have an outlet for pent up energy after all. It smiled as it saw its representative bringing the required piece that it needed. Now it could step forward and have this group do its work. It was just a shame that of the thirteen people in this coven, only the leader was even worth talking with, and she just barely as it was.

"Greetings, my friends." The witches all jumped up as the ancient figure stepped forward. "It has been a long time, Amy," the figure said as it glanced at the witch. "Humanity seems to agree with you more and more every day."

"Wh-who are you?" The young woman asked, not liking to lose control of a situation so fast. The unknown person talking to her looked a lot like one of the vampires she had seen once in Sunnydale but she had warded the place against intruders.

"I have watched you, and all that you have done, in a little town where you long to have revenge." The girl's eyes gleamed as she realized the deformed figure in front of her might be able to help her.

"Yes, you thirst for revenge, do you not? Is that not why you brought this coven together, weak as it is, to help you gather the power that you need?"

"Yes," Amy replied.

"Good. Allow me to introduce the name of the form that I currently wear."

"Currently wear?"

"I am a shapeshifter, you might say, my dear."

"Okay."

"Good, you may call me Master, as this form was once called."

"Right, you got it," Amy said, looking at the gleaming teeth the former vampire had.

"Good, now I need you to do a spell for me, when I ask you to, in Sunnydale. It will help in the fight that is coming, my dear. If you agree to help me, I will increase your powers to the levels they should be."

"So, if I help you, I won't need this bunch of pretenders?" she asked, waving her hands at the rest of the fledgling witches at she was only really a few steps ahead of, as far as power went, she just had more knowledge that she had gotten from her mother's books.

"That is right, my dear."

"Done," Amy replied eagerly, willing to agree to whatever she needed to, to show Willow what true power was. And if she had to work to get it, well what was new about that? She always had to work for her power, unlike the ungrateful red head, who had enough raw power to destroy the world running through her veins.

"Good. Sacrifice the virgins you have here, and then perform these spells; they shall give you the power you need to do what you I ask you to." The man that had come gave her a small bottle and two envelopes with the spells in them. Nodding, the woman smiled as he left in a hurry. Grinning insanely, Amy looked over the papers and then began chanting. The knives that had been waiting for the girls to slice open a small part of their hands, now hovered in the air over several of the girls' chests. Without further ado, Amy had the blades slash the chests open until their hearts were lying open to the view of the remaining occupants in the room and the person that wasn't quite there.

"Excellent!" the Master cried happily. "Just so you know, though, from time to time you shall see me in this form." Its features shifted from those of the Master to that of the blonde Slayer that had unintentionally made this all possible.

Amy made a face at the figure, but just nodded in agreement. "If it will get me the power, you could look like Willow," the dark witch said as the blood sacrifice took effect and began to charge her power with the combined energies of the dead girls that she had gathered.

The First nodded in understanding, this form did seem to unnerve people more than any other figure it had used, but that was due to the fact that it was a form that was still alive. "When the time is right, I want you to summon one whose blood matches this for me." the blonde said, pointing at the small bottle.

"Sure. No problem," the super charged witch replied.

"Are you sure? I want you to summon him from an alternate dimension." The girl thought for a moment as she looked over the spell on the bottle, before nodding in agreement. "One more thing, make sure they've got a mean streak in them. I want to be able to depend on them in the coming fight."

The witch nodded at the simple requirements. 'A dark warrior to be summoned when told, and the chance to kick Willow's ass like it deserved to be, since I won't be getting my revenge by psychological torture anymore. Yes, I can do that with joy.' After the First was gone, she powered up and went looking for some new talent. If the blood of those tonight had charged her like this, then she would need more.

**

* * *

**

Another Unknown Location

The First smiled as it looked at the avatar in front of it. This was a being that probably held the combined might of Caleb, Glory, and Adam in it. This was someone that could easily be used, if spoken to correctly. It had been easy enough to convince the stupid witch. After all, she wanted to be the most powerful Wiccan witch in the world, an easy thing to grant to a follower. She was only slightly below the level of the Charmed Ones, but slightly higher than Willow, when she let herself be accepted into the power of magic. The girl had been so much like Caleb, who had wanted the strength to fight women of darkness. The former preacher had amusingly enough fallen prey to the mental traps; the First had barely had to do anything to convince him. The preacher's hatred was similar to this avatar's. The only difference was that the focus of his anger was different.

"I, help you? Or are you just too stupid to know when to stay out of other peoples homes?" The figure stepped out of the next room angrily. The First smiled in appreciation, while the god may have been a fool, he certainly knew how to make avatars to hold his might.

The man, or what had been a man, could now be ranked up alongside that of the half-giant oaf that the Potter boy adored like some sort of uncle, in size at least. But where the half-giant had a easily measurable limit to his strength, this being had no such limits; he could shrug off most weapons due to the power he had; there were only a few unprotected spots on his being. Yes, getting him to join the war would be a great break through, which would be most helpful.

"Yes, I think you might be able to help me," the First said. "After all, one doesn't normally come here to see the mighty person that you are, and not be interested."

"What do you want, kid? I'm a very busy person."

"I need your help, naturally."

"And what do I get out of it if I help you? I ain't in the hero business."

"Why a chance to take care of the last remaining bit of that family of yours, of course, since he'll be there, along with other people." The big man looked down at this, his eyes gleaming in hunger for blood. Yes, the man was on the verge of a bloodlust just hearing about the person that he hated more than anything else.

"You got a deal," the figure said as he crushed the doorframe in his massive grip, easily tearing through the wall as if it was nothing more than styrofoam.

The First smiled at the display of strength. Yes, this was one person that was going to enjoy the new way of the world that it was making. After everything was done, it might even give him the remains of a city or something to rule, depending on his usefulness. "Head towards L.A., there's a small town about two hours drive away from there called Sunnydale. That is where I need you to be." He'll be there eventually, so you can be ready for him.

The man nodded as the First disappeared. He walked into the other room; on the wall were a handful of photos taken from the war. One showed a person that was just barely recognizable as the man who now looked at the photos. The man's eyes narrowed in anger as he looked at one of a man laughing; he then looked at the faded photograph of him and the rest of his family that rested beside the war photos. His father stood in the back next to his wife, the man's stepmother, the stupid cow, while her brat and he stood in the front. "Better watch yourself, Chuck, 'cause I'm coming for you," the large man told the photo, returning it back to its hiding place before he went to get the last piece of armor that he needed. Then he would be ready to go and take care of the last piece of his family.

**

* * *

**

Somewhere in Japan

The First took on a form that it knew it would get the most respect from and then stepped forward to confront the creatures that it wanted at the Hellmouth. "Greetings, warriors, I am pleased to see that your numbers have recovered, despite the battles that you have lost against the various warriors that would stop you," it greeted with flattery, which this form was good at.

"We are more than capable of fighting off any uninvited ones trespasser," the spokesman of the group said, drawing a short blade from its sheath.

The First frowned when the figure failed to recognize whom it was addressing. "Do not toy with me, Genin. I am more than you want to deal with," the First warned, letting its power flare for a moment. "Now, bring me to your esteemed Jonin, and we will discuss this with him."

The group of warriors looked once more at the First, before nodding in agreement. "To our Jonin will we take you. Afterwards, we shall see if your life is forfeit or not."

"If you say so." The group walked deep into the fortress that held the leader of this group of warriors.

An Asian man in robes was kneeling on the ground as he stretched his senses out, and gasped as he felt the darkness that was coming steadily closer to him. He could almost completely feel the darkness when the doors to his chambers crashed open and his soldiers brought someone in.

"My Jonin! This intruder demands an audience with you," one of his Genin said as the four bowed low to their lord and master. The person with them arrogantly stayed standing tall.

The old man scowled in anger as he lost his concentration and looked up as the four guards escorted the First into his chamber. 'And after I told the guards not to disturb me!' "Who dares to interrupt my meditations?!"

"He showed the correct hand motions for acceptance, my Jonin," the warrior said, remaining in his bow.

"And did I not tell you to wait until I was ready to receive anyone?"

The First ignored the old man as he ranted about his power for a few minutes. "Enough," the First ordered. "You have had your say, and you have already reached the end of my patience, Jonin! I bring you news of where an enemy may soon be, and you worry about the fact that I was able to pass by your Genin." The old man quieted down, and settled for merely glaring at the intruder that had entered his inner sanctuary. "I bring you word of a place in America where the one that destroyed one of your great houses will be making his way toward."

The old man's eyes hardened at this. "Only one has ever done that, and we have been searching for him for years. When we find him, our vengeance shall make even that Gaijin Dog beg for us to send him to his ancestors."

"I know that he will be heading for the Hellmouth in America soon."

"Which one?" the man asked, fingering his throwing weapon.

"The one on the West Coast, Jonin."

"If this information is wrong, then you will die," the old man warned.

The First laughed at the empty threat. "You cannot kill me, Jonin. I am the power which all light fades against; I am the one who taught the first of your masters how to disappear in death."

The man's eyes widened in fear and understanding as he quickly bowed before the figure. "Great One, forgive me. I did not recognize the form that you currently wear."

"Rise, Jonin, the time of bowing is later."

"Of course, Mighty One," the man said as he got back to his feet, but kept his head bowed in a respectful manner that was appropriate for a servant.

"Good. I understand that your people have found the correct way to restore a soul from death and return it to its former body."

"Yes, Dark One," the man replied, nodding. "Do you require a warrior of the past?"

"In a way, Jonin. I require the services of the teacher of your enemy."

The man nodded. "I shall have my people retrieve the master teacher's mask at once, Dark One." The Jonin waved his hand and the four Genin left to bring the best of their numbers to their Lord and Master for the mission.

"Good. After he has been restored to his body, head for the States and wait in the shadows of the Hellmouth until I call you for battle."

"Yes, Dark One," the Jonin replied, bowing once again, this time walking backwards at the dismissal.

"And offer him the Spirit Child as payment. You may hold onto the other and train her if you so wish; or you may even kill her; if you so choose." The old man nodded as the First disappeared from view. The battle hardened Jonin shuddered in relief as the dark presence left. He turned to explain the mission to the best of his Genin who would go out and retrieve the mask of the one they needed to resurrect. 'A mighty battle must be coming if the Darkest of the Dark wants our aide. Perhaps the Dark is rising again.' The man smiled, thinking of the sound of steel on steel that would soon be coming. The Hand of the First would be swift and powerful.


	8. Jaffa & Threstals

The author swallows nervously as the figure behind him begins counting in a dark low voice. "One," A long silver claw erupted on the right side with the sick sound of ripping flesh, "two," a second claw erupted on the other side, framing the writers head.

"All right!" The author said, and typed out quickly.

"I do not own any of the characters in this story check some of the first chaps for the list of various people that own the various universes that I have borrowed the characters from."

"Good choice bub." Wolverine said, as he blew a cloud of smoke at the writer before stalking off.

* * *

**Cheyenne Mountain**

"Incoming wormhole!" the on duty officer called as the alarm klaxons went off. The Finns stood by with their team in case of an attack. The likely hood of that wasn't very strong since they were dealing with an expected activation, nothing more, but it paid to be ready. They watched warily as the iris slowly opened until everyone could see the blue watery looking like portal. They waited a moment in anticipation before Col. O'Neill finally made his way out. He was followed by several rebel Jaffa that were maneuvering some heavy looking crates. The last two to come out were Teal'c, and an old man that the Finns didn't know, but had heard about.

"Greetings, Hammond of Texas," Bra'tac said warmly. "When O'Neill and Teal'c came to me with their requests for arms and explained what it was that they were going to be doing, I decided to bring four of my best warriors who said they would fight alongside Teal'c and the rest of you with great pleasure."

"I'm glad to hear that," Hammond replied said, shaking hands with Teal'c's former teacher. "Allow me to introduce Commander Samantha Finn and her second in command, Riley Finn. They lead the forces that are most familiar with the beings we're fighting, and have shown us various methods of combating these beings that we recently learned about."

Bra'tac bowed low, his cloak pooling around his feet. "It is an honor to meet such warriors as you." The two Finns, long used to warrior cultures, easily returned the bow without hesitation.

"Well, now that everybody's been introduced, how about we get to that little thing called a debriefing. You know that thing we do where we can ask our usual question of how much longer we'll be here, and talk about the local gossip from the rebel base of course," Jack said nodding to Brat'ac. "Shall we?"

The others nodded, agreeing with the colonel. "He's obviously related to Buffy, no one else is capable of sounding that cheerful talking about business," Riley commented to his wife as they followed the rest of the group out.

"So what's the news, sir?" Jack asked once they were all seated in the conference room.

"The Jaffa Master Bra'tac brought are sparring with the regular people, but Finn's people said that despite the fact that they're stronger than regular humans, they are not stronger than vampires."

"Then it will truly be an amazing battle," Bra'Tac said excitedly as he heard the reports.

"Finn is having about five vampires brought over to test the effectiveness of our weapons, but he made it clear that's all we're allowed to do. No other experimenting with them. He said he would rather not have Graveyard Girl kicking his ass around town because of his own stupidity."

"Understood. Are there any parts of this mission that we're unclear about people?" Hammond asked, looking at the group around the table.

"Not really, sir, but I do suggest that we have a team ready to retrieve any historical artifacts that may be housed in the area."

"That will be a secondary objective, Dr. Jackson. Our primary objective will have to be stopping this First being."

"You mean its troops right? 'Cause quite frankly, I don't think we need to worry to much about this First thing," Jack said. "I mean seriously, sir, it can't even touch people. So how the hell is it going to hurt us?"

"The First does not appear to be one to take lightly, O'Neill," Teal'c commented. "It has shown it has an astounding ability to manipulate people."

"Maybe, but 'til I see it do something other than change shapes, it's nothing more than a nifty Asgard hologram," Jack replied, grinning.

"Beware, O'Neill. I have heard rumors of a Goa'uld like this one; what if it was more than that? What if it is able to call upon the very Goa'uld themselves?" Bra'tac warned.

"Then lets take it down before it make any new friends," Jack suggested, annoyed. "There are kids being killed over this whole ghost thing, and all we're doing is sitting on our butts while we pick our noses." Jack slammed his hand on the table.

"We just want to be prepared, Jack," Hammond said, trying to calm the other man.

"With all due respect, sir, we already had enough weapons before we went to see Bra'tac. And while it'll be nice to have reserves and all that, we're about as ready as we're going to be. So, do you mind horribly if I ask you what's really holding us up?"

"I don't know, but the president is hesitant to send two of his best groups into a potential suicide mission."

Jack snorted. "And that's stopped us before, because?" He questioned looking around the room.

"Maybe we should just go ahead and leave," Carter suggested. "We can just commandeer whatever we need to along the way."

Riley glared at SG-1's second in command. "We are not going to break regulations unless we have to."

Carter nodded, her cool eyes boring right back at the soldier. "I'd rather not have to, but there are times when it's necessary."

"You people will fit right in, in Sunnydale," Riley noted, holding his head between his hands for a moment. "And here I thought I was away from all the crazies," he muttered, and Jack grinned proudly, the others just made small nods of acknowledgement.

"Give me two more weeks, Jack. After that, if the President doesn't clear you, I will personally fly down there to see what is going on. For all we know, Kinsey is keeping both of our groups pinned down here for some reason."

Riley Finn stiffened slightly. "Senator Kinsey?" he questioned.

"Yeah, have you had the rare misfortune of meeting him?" Jack asked, curious.

"You could say that. He was one of the people we reported to during our stint in Sunnydale, and now he has his fingers involved in your program?"

"Well, it appears that Kinsey is just all over the place, isn't he?" Jack commented sarcastically as he processed that bit of information on the dear old senator.

Hammond nodded in agreement. "Have your teams switch to standby and leave the rest to me." He got nods, and half salutes, in understanding. "Dismissed." Everyone nodded and filed out, leaving the general alone before he headed toward his office and the red phone.

"Captain Finn!" Carter called as she rushed to catch up with the two demon hunters.

"Yes, major?"

"After your comment about how we behave, I was wondering if you might have some psychological profiles on the people we're going to help."

"Yes, I do, but if you try to use any of that information to hurt them, you'll regret it," he told her fiercely. He looked her in the eye for a moment before nodding reluctantly. "I'll have the files sent to you at once. Don't make me regret it." Carter nodded and the three parted so they could continue their duties around the base.

Jack and Daniel caught up with Sam. "Well? Are they gonna let you take a peek?" Jack asked. Daniel looked like he was just as curious, but was letting Jack lead the charge on this. Probably to keep the man distracted, more than anything else.

"Yes, sir. Though we are under orders to follow the commands of your niece."

"I just want to make sure that she can hack it," Jack defended. "Leading a small team is a lot different than leading a group as large as we're going to have down there. So it'd be nice to know if she's up to the job."

"From what I have heard of BuffySummers, she is a warrior that learns quickly," Teal'c stated.

"It's better to be prepared for any possibility, T," Jack said.

"I hate to admit it, but Jack might be right on this one," Daniel agreed as he slid his glasses back up.

* * *

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

The trio stood outside the last of the carriages, each caught up in their own thoughts as they loaded their trunks inside. The thestrals all appeared more dangerous and foreboding somehow, Harry thought, as they looked toward the castle and the dreaded astronomy tower.

"Well, do we still want to do this?" Hermione asked hesitantly, biting her lip, afraid of how they might answer. The three of them shared a hardened look, a look of people who had seen enough death to last a lifetime.

"Do you really need to ask?" Harry reassured her . "Besides, what's the worst that can happen?" He gave a weak, crooked smile. "They going to expel us? Course, that is supposed to be a fate worst than death." The other two shared a grin at the reminder of their first adventure together before they all boarded the carriage. Once the doors were closed, Hermione whipped her wand out and began muttering the long term lightening charm.

"Think of it this way," Ron said. "We're definitely going to outdo the twins on impressive exits."

The other two nodded before Harry slipped out of the carriage and onto the front of it. Harry just hoped that they didn't get into too much trouble for what they were going to do, but they needed a distraction and this one might do it. "All right there, boy?" Harry asked as he sat in what he guessed would be called the drivers seat. The creature showed no sign of hearing him, but Harry hoped that was just the way it acted. As someone came by checking everyone, Harry donned his cloak and drew his wand. He held back a groan as he saw that it was Moody checking their car. Moody looked up at the drawn wand and nodded to Harry, before returning to whatever his post had been earlier.

"You still there, mate?" Ron asked, sticking his head out, looking concerned, even as the carriages started moving.

"Just fine, Ron. Now get yourself back inside before someone other than Moody figures out what we're doing." Ron nodded and quickly ducked back inside. They finally reached the train station and Harry realized that it was now or never.

"Okay, boy, I need a really big favor," Harry said to the horse. "When I say now, I need you to please take us to Sunnydale, California." The horse snorted slightly, but nodded, in what Harry hoped was agreement. Smiling slightly, Harry set up a the box that he had told the twins to create for him.

"Now!" Harry shouted. The thestral lunged into the air as Harry set the box of fireworks off. He grinned slightly at the two phoenixes that erupted from the set, and grinned fully as they flew around the words that formed between them:

Dumbledore Forever!

Scrimgeour was probably going to choke when he heard about this! That is if he wasn't still here. A rising cheer erupted from a crowd that had been silent moments ago as the carriage flew off, the various witches and wizards all cheering the words. They all seemed to find some small piece of comfort from the words. Harry quickly slipped back into the carriage, nodded as he removed the hood of his cloak. Hermione and Ron, working together, cast a powerful invisibility charm on the carriage and the thestral as they flew away.

"So, how big of a howler do you think my mum will send us?" Ron asked as he and the other two watched the display from their seats. The other two shuddered slightly at the thought of that happening.

"I left the records to be delivered to Remus at a certain time," Harry said. "And a quick about what we were doing. Hopefully they won't overreact too much." One look at him and they could see he didn't count on that.

"Right," Ron snorted, pulling out his wizard chess set, but surprisingly didn't start playing, instead he grabbed a DADA book that was under it. The other two stared at him in surprise before grabbing their own books.

Hermione glanced up from her heavy tome about the creation of various demons and their weaknesses. Ron had bought various types of candy, and had left them on the seat between the two boys. Ron was idly sucking on a fizzing whizbee while he read; Harry, on the other hand, was holding a chocolate frog card intently. Hermione bit her lip before she asked Harry if he was all right as she realized there was only one card that would hold his attention like that. Her theory was confirmed when he flipped the card over and read the back of a card he had memorized after his first year at Hogwarts. Hermione looked sadly at the front of the card, and watched as the figure on the card waved jauntily at her; she weakly returned the wave. Harry, calmly as he could, placed the card in his shirt pocket, his eyes glittering in regret.

"I think now would be a good time for a break," Hermione stammered, the other two nodding in agreement. They had been working for a couple of hours now. The two boys swallowed back their sobs, or whatever, and brought out their chess pieces since Ron had the board out already, and started a half-hearted game of chess. Hermione smiled weakly, for a few minutes they could pretend they were normal, instead of being the Chosen One, the brightest witch in a century, and the youngest male Weasley. Here, they were just a regular witch and wizards, not the infamous golden trio. Hermione stiffened slightly as she thought about how they each had a name of sorts that people called them. The two boys looked at their friend, wondering what was bothering her this time. "Are we doing the right thing?" she asked. "Maybe we should have gotten help before we left, or at least told someone."

"Hermione," Harry said softly. "What did you find that has you so worried?"

"Well, I was thinking…"

"Big surprise there," Ron interrupted, rolling his eyes with a small flicker of mischief.

The three of them shared a weak grin at the familiar joke. "I was just wondering if we might be messing with the balance by going to help."

"Yin and yang?" Harry questioned quietly, arching an eyebrow. Hermione nodded as Harry, at least, seemed to understand.

"Huh?"

"Hermione, you want to explain?" Harry asked. "I'd do it," he explained to the redhead. "But I'd rather watch her tear into you about how you got past your O.W.L.'s without understanding that concept." The redhead swallowed nervously while the bushy haired witch scowled at Harry. He couldn't resist one final dig, though. "Your eyes get much rounder, mate, and you'll be giving Dobby a run for his money."

Ron was about to retort when Hermoine cut him off with a glare. "Well, Ron, or should I say, Won-Won?" she asked sarcastically. "The concept of yin and yang is really quite simple. It's an easy way of defining light and dark. It was discovered by a pair of Chinese wizards before Hogwarts was even built." Harry snickered quietly to himself as he picked up a book on defensive charms. He was hoping to find a spell that would make a giant fire shield.

Hermione waved her wand in the air and conjured the image of a yin yang. "Really, Ron! You should already know this," she reprimanded him. "It's only 3rd year theory." Ron scowled slightly as Hermione continued to explain. "The two pieces stand for opposites, you know? Light and Dark, Good and Evil, Male and Female, Love and Hate. For either to survive, the other has to be around."

Ron snorted. "I doubt that, Hermione. That's kind of hard to believe."

Hermione shook her head at her friend. "All right, let's take Harry for example, since he refuses to explain this to you." Harry swallowed nervously as he became the study subject. "Harry's easily one of the wizards most attributed with being on the side of Light, right?" The two nodded. "And Voldemort is his opposite, easily the darkest wizard in the war."

"So, they're opposites of each other," Ron said as he began putting the pieces together.

"Correct," Hermione said, smiling proudly at Ron.

"Opposite ends of the chess board and all that," Ron continued, nodding to himself. "Always did wonder why there was a black side and a white side."

Harry chuckled at this, while Hermione silently fumed at Ron as he simplified her five-minute explanation. "There is a lot more to it than that. Besides the whole part about being opposites, there are the parts that every action from either side has to be balanced by a move from the other, like an equal and opposite reaction."

"If I say I understand, will you be quiet?" Ron pleaded.

"For now," Hermione said. "But we will discuss this more, since it may have to do with what were doing later on." Ron nodded in relief at buying some time away from the lecture.

Harry looked outside at the thestral. "I think we need to give the big guy a rest anyway," he said. "Even with the lightening charm, this carriage can't be an easy load to carry." The other two nodded as Harry ordered the skeletal horse to find a spot to land, preferably near water so they could give it a drink after its long flight. The horse nodded and once they landed the three of them managed to remove the bit from its mouth, so that it could get its drink.

"So, Harry, how long until you send an owl?" Hermione asked.

"Probably when we get to the ocean," Harry said, shrugging. "Or maybe when we get to the States. It will still take a while to go even that far." Hermione nodded as she cast incendio at a pile of wood.

Harry sighed after the small meal they had. He still wasn't sure that he was doing the right thing. And he wasn't great when it came to making the right choice. He thought he had been doing right when he had confronted Snape. 'But that turned out to be the wrong decision,' Harry thought, fingering his cheek where Snape had left a scar. He absently poked a stick at the fire as he thought about everything he had done, and all that was expected of him. He just had to figure out what it was that he had to do; it looked like the other two felt the same. Sure, the occasional visit with Cedric had been a relief to him; he had been able to talk and just be himself, something that Cedric always let him be. The Hufflepuff was a loyal friend, and even after death was a great ally to have. He had encouraged Harry to stay with his war though, and now Harry was stuck at an impasse. On one hand, he was more than willing to help Hermione's family with this fight; after all, she had shown herself more than willing to do the same for him. The only difference was that she was a great mind that could actually do something. He was just someone who made it up as he went along, screwing things up more often than not. Then there was the fact that he should be headed for the Dursley's, doing what Dumbledore had asked him to do; instead, he was doing something like this.

Ron looked at his friend and gave small grin. "Hard choice, wasn't it?" The redhead commented.

Harry nodded as Hermione sat down with them as well. "So we all had our doubts?" she asked hesitantly. The other two nodded. "If the fate of the world wasn't at stake, I would say we let someone else deal this, but…"

"But we have to do this," Harry interjected dejectedly. "The rest of the wizarding world will just pretend they're doing things, or act like nothing's wrong." He accepted a butterbeer from Ron, who was handing out drinks to go with the sandwiches they had. Harry sighed. "I just hope we'll be able to help them, and not be problems."

"Aw, c'mon 'arry," Ron said through a sandwich. "I's you we're talking 'bout."

Harry looked at the thestral; it was finished eating the ferrets that had been set in front of it and stood waiting for them. "Yeah, whatever," Harry replied. "Put the fire out, it's time to go." As Harry replaced the tack on the creature, the other two nodded and got back into the carriage. Harry looked at the horse. "To the Hellmouth," he instructed as he swung in after them. The horse nodded and started to gallop before leaping into the air, pulling them along behind it.


	9. Friendly Advice

The writer turns around and sees the Charmed Ones holding the Book of Shadows open to the 24 hr truth spell that Prue had once used. "All right, no need to force me." The writer says swallowing nervously at the trio. He turns to look at the readers who he can't see. "Unless you ain't caught on yet, all of this stuff doesn't belong to me, but to about a dozen different other people that I'm tired of naming. So if you'll look for the names in thee beginning chapters I can finish this up. And pop in a DVD."

The reason for sporadic coming and going is that some people are going to take longer than others to get to Sunneyhell if the military and the X-men were to get there first the others might have to back off or something for their individual secrecy so it all has to be timed right. Hopefully I'll be able to do that.

* * *

**San Francisco**

Prue idly twirled the pen in her handas she looked at the stack of papers her new boss had given her to take care of. The young woman was still uncertain that she had done the right thing. Especially when it came down to the fact that they had told an ancestor of theirs not stick her head in their business. Why was she the one that had to deal with all of this? Why did she have to be the unofficial leader? She hadn't even wanted to be a witch. Sure, she enjoyed the perks of being one and all, but that didn't mean she had to just roll over and do whatever the ghost of an ancestor said. She was her own person damn it! And she was not going to let people, or things that weren't supposed to exist, tell her what to do. Anyway, she really didn't like being told what to do, she never had. Besides, Phoebe had been the one to cast the spell that unlocked their powers. Why couldn't she act responsible every once and a while?

Now, instead of worrying about romantic problems, the only thing she worried about was getting her vacation time right. And that was proving more difficult than she originally thought it would be. She was now forced to struggle with what might be safe, and what was right. The decision was not one that she was enjoying right now. On one hand, there was the fact that a family member needed their help. On the other hand, was the fact that there were warlocks and monsters that were all coming to their town to cause all sorts of trouble. Did she really need to go someplace where she would find more? But she had made her call; now she just had to act on it. The woman sighed once more before returning to her papers.

"Why can't they decide this time?" she muttered to herself, signing several papers and setting them in her out box. This was the part of her work she really hated. She would much rather be looking over some of the various finds in the warehouse for the next auction. Unfortunately, this was part of the job, so she might as well get it finished. Then she could go and examine some of the more recent pieces. She placed all thoughts of monsters and magic out of her mind as she concentrated on the papers in front of her. Since she was actually getting work done, naturally that was when her phone started ringing, interrupting her.

Groaning, she answered, "This is, Prue, how may I help you?" She listened, nodding as she looked at the unfinished paperwork. "Yeah, sure, I'll be down in just a minute." She hoped that checking whatever it was wouldn't take too long. Maybe she could get back to work if it wasn't too bad. She had a lot of paperwork to catch up on. Especially if she wanted to get this work done for her working vacation.

"One of these days, I'm going to find out why people think I'm the assistant director here," she promised herself as she headed for the elevator. Flipping her hair out of her face, she put on her tough big sister face that only Phoebe dared argue with. She ignored the cold presence that she just barely felt near the door to her office. If she had noticed it, she probably would have dismissed it as nothing more than an air conditioning vent working over time in that part of her office.

The First smiled to itself as it watched the eldest of the Charmed Ones get up to take care of some petty little administrator's detail. The oldest witch was going to be overworked at the rate she was going. And if she ever made it to Sunnydale, she would be so burnt out that it would only be a matter of time before she fell. And somehow, it knew that the sister witches were going to Sunnydale, despite it's attempts to warn them off. Of course, that could work to its advantage as well, by having all of the various heroes on a battleground it had been cultivating for years. When the time was right, it could turn all of the great prophecies on their ears by ensuring the worst possible outcomes of each. The Source wouldn't ever need to worry about the children of Charmed and Whitelighter descent. The Star Gods could forget the chosen warriors to Heaven's Gate. The mark of the X would never spread as far as it could. And the Last Son of Krypton would not be around to form a trinity of power with the Bat, and the Princess of the Amazons. The Marked One would die, leaving all those that he cared about to die as well. It was all a matter of timing now. If the various champions and heroes got there too soon, then the pathetic children the Slayer led would have hope. And that was something that could not be allowed. An army that had no hope would die spectacularly as they were all destroyed. The only sad bit would be that Angelus would not be able to join its forces, and Angel would not be destroyed. But in one swift move, it would clear the board of all of the major pieces that had opposed it. Not even meddlers like the Elders could stop the darkness it would bring this time.

**

* * *

**

San Francisco: Police Department

Phoebe slipped into the police station; she hoped Andy would be able to help her out with this. Sometimes it helped to have your sister doing some on again off again dating with one of the best cops in San Francisco. She made her way to his desk, and there was the man himself, talking on the phone, as usual, talking police stuff that she couldn't understand. He waved her toward a chair as he finished his conversation about some case or another. Phoebe didn't even bother trying to understand what Andy was saying sometimes when he went into his cop lingo. Besides, she really did not want to understand the tall, dark haired guy with a tan that always seemed to be there, despite the fact that he spent a ton of time inside behind a computer. Anyway, if she wanted someone to understand Andy, she would talk to Prue. She waited patiently as he finished his conversation.

"Hey, Phoebe, what's up?" Andy asked, leaning back in his chair as he studied the youngest sister of the only girl that could really make him nervous.

"Well, I kind of need a favor," the young woman admitted, looking at her hands for a moment.

"A favor? And do I even want to know what it you've done this time? Or how you and your sisters are going to appear at my next bogus crime scene? A crime, which will remarkably fix itself, I might add, while you just happen to be hanging around?"

"Somehow, I don't think you'll be the one we have to talk to the next time."

"And why is that?"

"'Cause the next time we do something crazy, we plan to do it outside of home, sweet, home. It'll probably be somewhere closer to L.A.," Phoebe assured him.

"Really?" Andy asked. "And should I be worried that you don't think you'll be near here the next time something goes wrong?" Andy countered.

"Nope, no reason to be worried," Phoebe again reassured the man. "I just kind of wanted to look at the police records for a relative of ours."

"Really?" Andy asked, grinning in disbelief. "And just who might that be?"

"You remember our older cousin, Joyce?"

"Yeah, she used to come by and visit you guys every once and a while, as I recall. Even did some of the free family babysitting, too. She was a bit of an art nut, like Prue. Right?"

"Yep, that's the one."

"Didn't one of you say that she had gotten married to some kind of office idiot or something like that?" Andy asked as he propped his feet up on his desk.

"Yeah, that's the one. Anyway, she had a daughter who's a few years younger than me, and we kind of wanted to get some back ground information on her before we went down there."

Andy rolled his eyes at the weak lie. "I really shouldn't do this," he said as he began typing to access the main database. "What's her name?" he asked when he finally logged on.

"Buffy Summers."

Andy looked up, a small grin on his face. "If you tell me I'm going to find information on a blonde, California cheerleader, then I'm going to laugh."

"Well, she is an L.A. native ," Phoebe replied, shrugging. "As for her being a cheerleader, I think she was, but for only a little while," She assured the cop, knowing he might use that bit of information to tease Prue mercilessly.

Andy looked at her oddly for a moment, but shrugged as the information came up. "Let's see. According to these files, your cousin is a bit of a troublemaker. She was also mistakenly presumed dead at one time. They had a grave spot and everything it seems. It was set up sometime during the summer, a little over a year ago, and was evidently kept in tiptop shape. Or it was until someone damaged it a bit. But since your cousin came back, the younger sister didn't seem too bothered by that. She didn't care what the police found, and according to this, they didn't find anything anyways. I can get the case report for you if you like, and we can see what's up with that," he offered.

"What about her teen record?" Phoebe asked, after shaking her head at the offer.

"Well, unless she was a troublemaker then as well, there probably won't be a lot," Andy told her as he searched farther back. "And I do believe I've just found the black sheep of your family. I think she's even worse than you were when you were a teen," Andy commented as he viewed all the information coming up on his screen. "According to this, she's either the local unsung hero, or she's one of the biggest menaces that has just about destroyed a small town, after she was transplanted from the big city."

"What can I say? She got the majority of the troublemaking genes."

"Seriously, Phoebe," Andy cautioned, looking at the youngest Halliwell sister. "Be really careful with this cousin of yours. Anyone that has this many people turn up dead around them should be dealt with, with extreme caution." The witch nodded as she took the computer printout with the information on it.

'Too bad I couldn't tell him the truth about why I needed the information. Of course, then he might not have told me anything. Especially if he knew that the real reason I needed the information was so my sisters and I could go and get ourselves involved in a mystical war that has been building for years,' she mused to herself. Maybe she should stop at Quake later on and get a drink. She could also show Piper what she had found so far. With that in mind, she thanked her sister's boyfriend, or whatever he was this week; it was sometimes hard to keep track. She had just gotten up to leave when Andy stopped her.

"Um, Phoebe, when you see Prue, could you…"

"Tell her you said hello?"

"Yeah." Phoebe gave him a quick thumbs up before she left.

* * *

**England: Zabini Manor**

The richly decorated room was impressive, to say the least. Bellatrix and Peter, a portly rat faced man known more commonly as Wormtail, stood to the side of the room, one as a guard, the other as a servant, a caretaker to the giant snake that slithered around the room. The two stood at the beck and call of the person currently sitting in front of a pair that he had only recently gotten the chance to speak with.

Voldemort looked down his nose at the two people in black robes kneeling in front of him. On the right, the larger form of Severus Snape kneeled on a crooked knee. Next to the greasy haired man, and practically laying on the floor, was his pupil, Draco Malfoy. Voldemort's red eyes narrowed darkly as he examined the boy before him, for to call him a man was ridiculous. When he had first inducted the pale haired boy into the ranks of his Death Eaters, he had had such high hopes for him. Wasn't this boy a Malfoy? The heir of one of the most proud and noble pureblooded families? True, the child had needed threats to agree to take the mark, and to agree to the mission, but he had too great a potential to let the old fool get his hands on. Or so he had originally thought. The boy had been trained for years to do his duty, yet when the time came he failed the pureblooded wizards. It was truly a shame that the youngling had turned out to be such a grave disappointment to him. Still, the boy had gotten to the real Death Eaters into the school. The job had been done, and done with a craftiness that would have made his ancestor Salazar proud. In that way, the boy had proved his breeding. He hadn't missed the slyness in using Potter and his companion's own tricks against them. The use of the coin and the darkness powder had indeed been great, and was actually a a bit amusing to him. Not that he would let anyone know how proud he was of the methods that the boy had used.

"Well, Severus, it appears that great honor is yours at this time," the Dark Lord told his servant. The man nodded slightly, but was not foolish enough to raise his head. Unfortunately, the boy's sire had at least taught him proper behavior before ones betters, since the boy didn't even twitch while his teacher was being addressed. "As for you, young Malfoy," the Dark Lord said, turning his attention to the child before him. "I understand that you couldn't even take care of one wandless, old, crack-potted, muggle loving fool!" The boy swallowed, but didn't say anything. "I will deal with you later, child." The wizard waved dismissively at the boy. The boy nodded, a small bit of color returning to his face as he backed toward the door of the chamber, but Voldemort was not about to let the simpering child off so easily. "Until then, perhaps your aunt can demonstrate proper loyalty to you, and what a painful disappointment you are to the rest of us." The already pale boy's face returned to the shade it had been a few moments ago. He must have honestly thought that the Dark Lord was going to be satisfied with what happened. His pale blue eyes darted toward the woman in question before returning to the Dark Lord.

The boy opened his mouth to whimper, or possibly to make some pathetic excuse, but a blonde female that stepped out of from behind a pillar interrupted him. She had been leaning almost casually in the shadows. Voldemort stopped any words or spells he might have thrown at the obviously muggle girl that had entered his current headquarters. The words of a dark curse had been on his lips, but then he had felt the intoxicating flavor of darkness that was practically falling off the small girl. Her very essence was darkness in its truest form. Only once had he ever felt power like he was currently feeling. "It has been a long time, Voldemort," the girl greeted, adjusting the hem of her jacket. "How are my pets serving you this time around?"

Voldemort grinned at the figure before him. He got up off his chair and gave a courteous bow to the figure. "Greetings, Dark One. It is a refreshing and terrifying thing to be in your presence again."

"Thank you, Voldemort," the woman replied, smirking. "Though you never did answer my question."

"Your pets are remarkable beings. I am just honored that you were willing to put them under my care again."

The figure shrugged. "You do let them exercise their unique abilities, more than that bowler-wearing idiot ever did. Besides," she added with a feral grin. "They are good for making total chaos."

"Should I summon them for you to oversee?" The Dark Lord questioned. "I'm sure they would love to have a moment or two with their maker."

"Shall we take our leave my Lord?" Severus' silky voice asked from his spot on the floor.

Voldemort turned toward the figures on the floor. Snape shifted uncomfortably as he too felt the darkness coming from the being before them. The little boy who would be a man, on the other hand, was watching the whole scene with indifference. He seemed incapable of feeling the dark power that this being was just barely containing. Voldemort frowned at this; perhaps he would need to make the boy into more than one type of example.

"There is no need, Severus Snape," the blonde answered for him. "You and your charge, Malfoy, may stay where you are for now."

Snape looked livid, as if he wanted to respond to the young woman, but the darkness he felt was keeping him from saying anything.

"Ah, Severus, I have been meaning to one day take you to meet this one. It was instrumental in helping me find a number of sources for power when I was younger. May I be one of the first to introduce, the First Evil."

"The First?" Snape asked in awe. While it was true that Snape was only a half-blood like Potter, he, at least, had had the privilege to grow up knowing about magic, and had also spent his years studying the methods of darkness.

"Yes, though I must admit this is an odd way to communicate," Voldemort said, his red eyes taking in the form of the blonde before him. He, almost hesitantly, placed his hand through the figure, withdrawing his hand as he felt a slight burning sensation.

"Impressive. There are few who can stick their limbs into me and actually survive," the First complimented the wizard. "You have truly come far, Voldemort."

"Thank you, Dark One."

"I thought the only way to contact the First was through one of the wells of death, though," Severus said, his sharp mind examining the short figure before him.

"Well, that would be true, wizard, if the balance of the world had not been tipped and I gained the power to be here because of it."

"So you have been directing your various servants in their endeavors then?"

"No, I have been busy taking care of other business, that has been proving to be a bit of annoyance to my various warriors. Some what like your own endeavors with that boy that keeps on beating you," the First added, a slight smirk on its face.

"The ancient magic the mudblood invoked caught me by surprise," Voldemort defended through clenched teeth. "As for his other heroics, he has always fought me while I was in a weakened state. But you did not come here about my problems," he said, coming to his senses. "What is it that I can do for you?"

"Our problems are converging into one," the First explained to the Dark Lord. "And with one mighty sweep, we can destroy multiple so called 'Chosen Ones'. They will all be gone and out of the way, and I can watch my warriors do their duties without worrying about some prophesied one getting in the way."

Voldemort smiled at this. A world with no heroes would be a good one. "Severus, send word to forty of my Death Eaters. I believe we have places to be."

"Of course, my Lord," Snape replied as he backed up to the door and then turned to leave.

"Leave the child where he is, Snape. I have something I want him to experience first," Voldemort said. Snape nodded and strode out of the room, ignoring the suspicious gaze of Bellatrix and the hateful glare of the former Marauder.

"Perhaps your pets can instill the appropriate amount of fear in this child," Voldemort suggested to the First. "That is, if you have the time to see them at work."

"I suppose," the First replied, almost bored. "You think this piece of wizarding weakness can still be of some use to the Dark?"

"Yes," he assured his Master. "If for nothing else, then as a way to show people what happens to families that fail me, and by extension, you."

"Of course," the First agreed as it summoned its creations. Creations that had been made when it was new to this dimension and it had been trying various things. The few torches that were lit flickered weakly as the four beings that guarded the manor passageways floated into the room. Draco Malfoy quivered in fear as the things passed him.

"These, young Malfoy, are merely shadows of what the First is capable of," Voldemort told the boy as the creatures bowed low to their creator and it's chosen warrior of the Dark. It had been a long time since they had been able to pay their respects to their creator.

"Yes, I sense the souls in you," the First said, observing the creatures. "You will be more powerful for the nourishment. Do you still need the boy whole?" it asked, turning towards the shaking mass.

"Possibly. If for nothing else, he will make a good scapegoat that I can use."

"Then let my pets have their way with him; they won't have to drain him of his soul to make him wish for death."

"Well, since they are yours, I suppose letting you watch them in action is your right," Voldemort said, not bothering mentioning that he had already suggested this.

Blaise Zabini was glad to be home after the annoying train ride. After the scar heads little show, the ride to the platform had been bittersweet. The house elf opened the door, just in time for the young man to hear the terrified screams of his former housemate echoing throughout the Manor. The boy merely swallowed in fear as the door that led to the lower levels of the manor slammed shut, silencing the screams. All that was left was the memory of the sound.


	10. First Visitations

**First Visitations**

The author turns around after hears an ominous clicking sound and turns to see Jack O'Neil with his P90, Jonathan Kent and Uncle Jesse covering him with their shotguns and Hagrid pointing his crossbow a him. "Say it," they all ordered.

Sighing the writer nodded. "I the texaswookie, still lay no claim of ownership to any of the universes being used in this story. If you are unsure who belongs to who check earlier chapters for various ownerships."

* * *

**Colorado Springs **

Clark sighed, as he sat in the back of the truck. The three of them had been on the road for a long time. He hadn't realized what a long trip this would be when his parents had suggested it. 'That's the problem with having super speed, waiting for others all the time," he thought tiredly as he looked at the occult book in his lap. He believed they were somewhere in Colorado, judging from the mountains he could see. He looked up from the book he was reading. It talked about how magic was supposed to work; it seemed that it was actually as powerful in it's own way as he was. If these things really worked, it was a wonder the people affected by the meteor rocks could even be scary. And was he doing the right thing charging into Sunnydale? Here was a secret society that he, that all of them, would be accepted into.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice the truck pulling into a restaurant. "C'mon, Clark," His father said.

"Oh, right," Clark replied. He began hopping out of the truck when a voice stopped him.

"How are you, Naman?" a familiar voice asked him.

Swallowing, Clark turned to regard the person in front of him. "Kyla." He paled at the sight of the Indian girl in front of him. "But I saw you die."

"And the power of the caves healed me, Naman," the girl told him, smiling gratefully at the confused boy. "The caves have so many wondrous powers in them, Naman. Thank you for putting my body to rest so near them."

Clark swallowed again. Had Jor-El resurrected this girl? If he had, why? What was the point? What did he hope to gain by it? Jor-El never did anything out of kindness.

"I bring a message from the Spirits, Naman. They urge you to be careful with your battle, and that you should think long and hard before committing yourself to this fight. Though they did say it might make a good test."

Clark had to hide the sick thought of a pleased Jor-El as he focused on the girl. "Kyla, I still don't think I'm this Naman person."

"I also bring a message for your father: he is to remember his deal."

Clark was instantly alert. "Did the Spirits say anything about what this deal was?" Kyla looked like she was about to answer, but she tensed and cocked her head. She must have heard or sensed something, because she shifted to her white wolf form and leaped to the ground and ran off. "Kyla! Wait!" Clark called after the wolf. He rushed off after it, but it soon disappeared. Cursing to himself, Clark jogged back to the restaurant, nearly bumping into a large, dark skinned man.

"Sorry about that," Clark mumbled, embarrassed that he had nearly run the man over.

"It is all right. I am unharmed," the man said, tilting his head slightly in almost a bow.

"Sorry," Clark said again as the man left, followed by three other people. He went inside to find his parents. His father was just going to love this. Too bad his dad wouldn't tell him about the deal he made.

His guess was right; his father had not been pleased. He had decided they should try and eat their meal in peace, though. "If Kyla wants to talk, she'll find us, son," his dad had assured him. "That girl has an uncanny sense of direction. Especially when it comes to you."

On his way out, Clark nearly bumped into someone else. "Whoa, easy there, pal." The guy he had nearly bumped over appeared to be in his early to mid-twenties, while they guy with him, though taller, appeared to be a bit younger.

"Sorry about that," Clark tried to apologize, but the guy was busy checking something that was beeping in the jacket of the guy behind him.

"What have we got, Sam?" he asked the dark haired guy.

"An unknown," Sam replied. "But the energy levels, whatever they are, are off the wall."

"Excuse us, but we're in a bit of a hurry," Jonathan said, stepping between the boys and Clark.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure." The two boys parted, but were too intent on their device to notice as the Kent family quickly left.

* * *

**X-Mansion **

Alex was riding the elevator down to the lower levels; Jean had given him a job to do. As the door opened, he saw the Russian kid. He wanted to go talk to him, but it looked like he was too busy talking with the animal. They were busy discussing something called a fastball special. He might have stayed to listen, but he had more important things to do. He listened with half an ear as he passed them. They were discussing whether a discus style throw or an overhead shot would be a better way to do it. As he listened, he supposed that he wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of such an attack, unless he had a moment or two to prepare himself. With the kid's strength and the animal's crazy methods, whoever, or whatever, they attacked like that, would be in for a heap of hurting.

He had his own plans right now, though. And they didn't include listening to comrade farmer and the Canadian Woodsman, who had too much loco weed in his system. The plan right now was to deal with the navigational controls and the stealth cloaking on board the Blackbird. He had already done damage to other computer systems throughout the mansion, ensuring problems all over the place. At the moment, people were spending more time repairing equipment than getting ready for the mission at hand. So far, he hadn't been blamed for any of the problems. But he was aware that could change any moment, if he got sloppy in what he was doing. At the rate things were going, he figured he had one, maybe two, more messes he could make before they caught onto what he was doing.

It was obvious that he needed to work some more on the Russian, if he was going to be that friendly with a confirmed psycho. He was going to have to deal with him, because he couldn't allow the kid to stop him. If Jeanie said they needed to wait for the appropriate signal before they left, then that was what they should do. Jeanie was always right about those sorts of things. Even though he wasn't the one to love her like Scottie had, he did know enough to trust her.

He entered the hangar and looked at the powerful jet. No one else was around, and all the security would be turning itself off in a moment. He smiled as he watched the cameras stop moving and turn off. Moving quickly, he climbed onto one of the servicing ramps he was right over one of the wings. "Hope the others will understand," he mumbled to himself as he charged one of his hands and fired. He watched the energy beam flow from his hand to strike the tailfin. The beam dug deeply into the aircraft and nearly went all the way through. He smiled proudly at his handiwork. Small, trickle charges were harder for him to do. 'I'm better at it than Scott, though,' he thought to himself, walking down the hall. Hearing someone coming, he ducked into a side room and ran right into Scott.

'Speak of the devil,' he thought wryly as he saw his brother. The team leader was in a room they used as a strategy room, but also doubled as an office. The brown haired man was currently staring at a picture. "What's up, Scottie?" the blonde mutant asked his older brother.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry. I was just looking and remembering," Scott said, flipping the photo over. The picture showed four laughing kids, posing in front of a camera. "That was a fun time, wasn't it?" he reminisced.

Alex could only nod as he stared at the photo. In the photo was Scott, himself, Dawn, and Buffy. The four of them were waving cheerfully at the camera. A more playful Scott was making bunny ears behind his brother and cousin's heads. Buffy was holding onto Dawn protectively, already falling into the habits of an overprotective older sibling. 'Is she as protective of Dawn, as Scott is with me?' he wondered.

Buffy, a girl he hadn't thought of in years. 'How did she do it?' Alex wondered. 'How did a girl as fragile looking as her, manage to pull this kind of thing off?' When he had last seen her, she hadn't looked like she was going to be inheriting any of the Summers height. Yet now they had found out that she was just as much of a hero as either one of them was. Maybe even more of one. While they had a choice in whether they saved the world, she hadn't been given that kind of luxury. Someone had just told her to fight, and fight she had, if even a quarter of the stories were true.

The two Summers men stared at the photo of happier times and remembered some of the things that had happened that day. That photo was the last time they had all been together, when they had all been a family, no matter how distant. He remembered it vaguely; it had been at their grandparent's business in Alaska. A small little family get-together, he remembered. It had been the last time most of them had seen each other.

Then the problems had come. Their father had decided to fly them back in his restored military plane. The other Summers family had left a few days earlier. They had waited so Christopher Summers could spend a few extra days with his parents. The wait had cost the boys so much: their parents, getting split up, Scott being forced to hide his eyes. Then the icing on the cake had been when Alex had been adopted, while Scott was someone no one wanted. It had left him in an uncaring orphanage, until the Professor had found him.

Now it looked like it was time to bring the last members of their family together. He grimaced slightly. He wanted to help her, but he just had to be patient he told himself. 'Soon,' he promised the photo. 'Soon we'll be family again.'

"Did you need something?" Scott asked, breaking from the peaceful memories they were both feeling.

"Not really, just wondering when you plan on getting this show on the road?"

"Well, the Professor says we seem to be as ready as we're going to be. Dr. Richards and his people have all been briefed, so if anything happens they'll know what to do. Logan wants to take Johnny with us, but he's going to stay here with the rest of his team so they can be on standby."

"Good."

"Hey, Alex, I need to ask you a question."

"Yeah, sure."

"What's your problem with Logan and the girls? You've made it obvious that you don't like or trust them. You're even against Nightcrawler, and I thought that after you got to know him, you'd give him a chance. I didn't really think there was someone that actually could dislike him. Once they got past his appearance, that is. Of course, I didn't think you would ever let a person's mutation be a judgment stone either."

"He's a threat," Alex said simply. "You think it was coincidence that he came up on Cerebro right when that mutant hater attacked? No, he's still government. Maybe even a plant that's fighting his programming."

"One could say the same about you, Alex," Scott countered. "Or did you forget the fact that you're part of a military project?"

"Yeah, and we don't have to worry about infiltrators like you do either."

"And Wolverine and the girls?"

"The little guy is all animal. As for the girls, they trust him beyond belief. If it came down to it, whose orders would they follow? Yours or his?"

"He's been more than willing to sacrifice everything for them, so it's really not all that surprising that they care for him. Neither of them have a father figure they feel like they can trust anymore. Kitty loves her father dearly, but he practically sold her to the Yakuza. Logan was there to help her."

"And now she's become a killer, just like him, with those ninja abilities of hers," Alex countered. "And why are you so sure that the brainwashing she was put under is over? Just because of some guy whose only experience with college is probably the girls that hang out at bars?"

"The Professor did scan her mind when she got back," Scott said calmly.

"And Rogue? She absorbed Magneto, and the killer, into her head, and you're not worried? And why are they so impressed with kids that are so powerful?"

You're determined to be stubborn about this, aren't you?"

"Someone has to be, and Jeanie said that…" Alex eyes bugged out as he quickly snapped his mouth shut.

Scott swallowed, his voice going hard, "Alex, Jean's dead. There is no way that she… It couldn't be her. Unless of course, you think you can explain why she's not dead?"

"She is, but she's not. Look, because she died using her mind like she did, she left an astral imprint, or echo, of herself. It can talk to people, if they're willing to listen to the voice of a dead person."

"The Professor would have sensed her."

"Xavier couldn't hear or sense her, because he has already accepted that she's gone."

"Alex, did you even bother to read those files we gave you?" Scott asked his younger brother in annoyance. "You've been listening to the First, you idiot."

"She said that you'd say that," Alex said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Why can't she have done something like what I'm saying? I mean if she can be a telepath and telekinetic, why can't she have some sort of ability to do those sorts of things?"

"Listen, Alex, I hate it as much as you do, but Jean couldn't do anything like that. She's gone, whether I like it or not, so how about you get your head screwed on straight." Scott's visor was glowing with dangerous energy as he tried to stay in control of his temper. "Once you've done that, I want you to come down to the cemetery with me, and you can say goodbye to her properly."

"But…" Alex started. He didn't like it; he knew that he was right. Jeanie would never hurt them, which was why he knew he could trust the image. Yet here was Scott, telling him that he wasn't supposed to trust Jeanie's echo.

"No, Alex!" Scott said angrily. "The First is using Jean's image to make you act like an idiot. Not that you need a whole lot of help in that department. I wish with all my might that what you were saying was true, but it's not. And the more I pretend otherwise, the bigger the chance that I won't be able to help someone else I care about. I can't believe that you're willing to risk the world on the word of a ghost. Next thing I know, you're going to tell me that you've been told to stop us or something idiotic like that."

"That's why I can't show myself to you, Scott," Jean's image said as she materialized in a chair to the side. "You are so like Logan, in the fact that you need to have physical evidence before you'll believe."

"She's right you know," Alex said, chuckling.

"What? Who's right?"

"Jean is. She said you're a lot like the crazy guy. Needing to see it for yourself, for you to believe in something."

"That's not Jean, Alex, just something that looks like her."

"You know, that kind of stings," the redhead said. Alex's eyes narrowed, that was way too sarcastic and venomous for it to be Jean. "I mean, here I do my best to hold on after death and all he does is say I'm not real. Even says I'm the next threat that has to be fought. Well, that's love for you."

"All that damage…" Alex began.

"Yep, you've kept your friends stuck here. And you've stirred up enough distrust that I can practically discount you Muties," the figure said as it shifted into a short blonde with green eyes.

"So who are you supposed to be?" Scott asked as the figure became visible to him.

"Who me? Well I'm your cousin Buffy. Guess you guys are a little late." She smirked at the crestfallen looks they were wearing. "Oh, by the way, Alex. Thanks for keeping these people busy, and nice job on blowing the tail piece off." She then disappeared, leaving the two men staring at the spot in shock.

"Damn it!" Scott yelled, slamming his fist into the wall. "This is all your fault!" He glared at his brother.

"You think I don't know that!" Havoc yelled right back as the bright circle on his chest started glowing. The two brothers stood there, glaring angrily at each other. Each of them was huffing in anger over what had just happened. "Now, we can either yell at each other, or we can get the Blackbird fixed, and get some payback for all the crap that that thing just did."

"Agreed," Scott said, glancing once more at the photo. He then placed his red glasses in a pocket and put on his visor. "Who knows, maybe Dawn is still alive." He paused at the doorway and looked at his brother. "We're not finished with this," Cyclops warned as he stormed out of the office. He was already mentally calling out to the Professor to meet them in the hangar.

* * *

**Unknown Location in the U.S**

Connor sipped his drink thoughtfully as he glanced around the bar. They were getting close to California, but even they had to stop and rest, or they would be no help to the people that were doing Hellmouth duty. They had all agreed to meet here in this small town, where no one was likely to be watching for them. None of them trusted planes not to blow up on them at the moment, so that left ground transport. Once they had gotten involved in this whole mess, they had been forced to be even more cautious than they normally were.

"You realize you make quite a target like that, right?" Methos commented, slipping into a nearby seat.

"Well, you know that I'm never one to do things smartly," the Highlander said, shrugging his shoulders at the older Immortal.

"That's an understatement," Methos replied. "I'm beginning to think that you Highlanders are nothing more than walking targets."

"Well, then it's a good thing you're around to keep us out of trouble," Conner bit out, irritated. Normally he would have been more polite, but he had spent the last two days here waiting for the others to show up. "I take it you've been having as much fun getting here as I did?" he asked, since his own trip had been full of all sorts of adventures.

"Yes. If it wasn't a sudden increase in challenges, it's been a half a dozen Bringers trying to tire me out before the next challenger they throw at me. I've taken five heads this month."

"Aye, since I've been on the road I've had to take three heads. For some reason the First wants us dead," Connor said, a glimmer of a smile on his face. "Perhaps we're more of a problem than it would like to admit."

"That's only if it was fighting with complete incompetents," Adam replied.

"You'll never know, though, will you, Methos?" the First queried as it appeared in their booth. This time it took the form of the first Immortal that Connor had ever had the displeasure of seeing, and killing, which still haunted his dreams. "Don't worry. You'll be nothing more than memories by the time you might have been able to be a problem. I go to them, and I could have half a dozen different government people on you. Then your precious little secret would be out there for the entire world to see. I'm sure historians would just love to talk to you. So would scientists, though."

"Let me guess, you're just going to keep sending troops after us until we drop from sheer exhaustion," a voice asked dryly as the other MacLeod, Joe, and Richie fell into their own seats.

"Safety in numbers," Duncan explained at the questioning stares of the older Immortals. "Not all of us feel as if we have to go it all alone." The other two Immortals didn't say anything at the comment obviously directed at them.

"Yes. Well, as fun as this is, I believe there's enough of you here to go ahead and kill you," the First said, waving it's arm. "Or at the very least, distract you all for a while." The door to the bar blew open.

Connor groaned as he recognized some of the policemen entering. They were New York detectives. Some of them really disliked him, and his habit of finding trouble.

"Have fun, Highlander," the First said as it disappeared.

"We might want to leave now," Methos suggested.

Nodding, the others eased out of their seats and headed for the back. Once they entered the alley, they saw the three demons standing there waiting for them. One had a bone claw as long as a sword, another was some kind of serpent, while the last member of the trio was red skinned and held a sword.

"You know, I'm already hating this," Richie complained as he ducked the serpent's strike.

Methos didn't answer, he was too busy fighting with a demon that didn't want to leave him with an arm. That left Duncan to face the creature with the bone claw.

"What are these things?" the older Highlander asked as he barely missed being skewered by the large bone that was protruding from the creature's arm.

"Demons," Methos grunted. "Don't bother with that," he said as Joe pulled out a gun. "It only makes them angry."

The Watcher nodded as he observed the Immortals' fight against the creatures. Duncan was scoring the occasional hit, while Richie was having a bit more trouble. Connor was fighting a bloody target. The Watcher just hoped for the best and began firing on the snake thing. The bullets hit it, but didn't seem to phase it. "Should have brought my shotgun," the old man mumbled as he stared at the wounds they had actually started healing. Those were hollow point shells, too. The demons were losing though, and it was obvious they knew as one by one they broke off their attacks and ran, or in the snake's case slithered, off to safety.

"Well, that was fun."

"I see you lot finally showed up," Joe complained as the rest of the group slipped into the alley.

They shrugged. "Way too many challenges lately," was all Amanda said.

"Well, I guess we should travel in one group then, since this is the way they're doing things," Methos said. The others nodded, knowing that had cost the oldest of them. "Especially since we're not going to slip in without the First noticing what we're up to." The others agreed as they headed for their vehicles, promising to meet at a nearby gas station. Once they were there, they would plan their move.


	11. American Dream

**San Francisco  
**

Piper groaned as she finished loading Prue's car. They were taking it for their emergency trip to Sunnydale. She really wished that she were the one with telekinetic powers right now, instead of the ability to freeze things. It would make packing all of this crap into the car a lot easier than the way she was doing things, rules be hanged. It would also help if her sisters were helping her, instead of doing their own things. But she knew they were doing important things, and neither of them would likely think of the right things to take on a trip like this one. They had originally planned on taking a plane to the Sunnydale airport, but the airport was reportedly deserted at the moment. Which meant that whether they liked it or not, they would have to go by car, since a number of flights to closer places, like LA, were booked solid.

"Hey," Phoebe said as she came outside carrying a box.

"Phoebe, is that?"

"Uh huh, you never know when you might need a little extra firepower."

"No one better steal it," Prue said as she came up, slamming her door angrily.

"More troubles?"

"Just the usual combination of Andy and work," the eldest of the three grumbled.

"Ah," Phoebe said, going quiet.

"What happened this time?" Piper asked.

"A minor demon thought it would be fun to take me down while I was at work. I managed to kill it, but I lost an outfit when he spat this slime at me. I was also late for a meeting, and Andy was part of the team that was called in after the demon was gone."

"So, a typical week then?" Piper asked.

"Yes, unfortunately," the irritated woman replied to her perky sister.

"Well, the messing up your clothes thing is new. And I'm not really helping, am I?"

"No, you're not," Prue told her.

"All right, well as soon as Phoebe gets the potions and book put away, we can go."

"After I change my clothes," Prue said "There is no way I am going to travel all the way in a business suit covered in demon slime."

"Well, hurry up then," Piper replied.

"Oh yes, hurry up. You don't want to be late," a figure said. Swallowing nervously, the three turned around and looked at who was talking.

"Okay, now that is just low," Phoebe said as she gazed at the woman standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. She looked like the same woman that had put them in time out for screaming all of those years ago.

"Hi grams," Piper said with false enthusiasm as she backed toward the car and behind Prue. Phoebe mirrored her actions so that Prue now stood between them and what appeared to be their grandmother in a bad mood. When she looked like this, Piper's reasoning and Phoebe's sweet talking could do nothing to please the old woman. Prue was the only one of them with the guts to stand up to the old matriarch of the family.

"Be quiet, Piper," the woman ordered. Piper nodded, taking another step back, hitting her back against the car.

"Aw c'mon, grams."

"Phoebe," the woman warned, silencing the youngest of the three. Prue rolled her eyes at her cowed sisters. "Do you have something to add, Prudence?"

"You mean besides the fact that I'm not impressed?" Prue asked, crossing her own arms and shifting her weight until the two were now in identical positions as they stared at each other.

"Um, Prue, you realize that you're talking back to a pissed off grams, right?"

"Phoebes, that's not grams, or else I wouldn't be able to hold my keys in her chest." Eyes widening, the woman stepped to the side and watched as the keys sprang into Prue's hand. "So what are you? A ghost, illusion, or maybe the First?"

"Try the last one, dear," the old woman returned. "Don't think that just because you know who I am, it's going to help you. You're just a bunch of little girls that don't know what you're doing."

"Yeah, well it's because of the scumbag demons that like you so much that we have to figure a lot of this out on our own," Prue said coldly. "If it hadn't been for your stupid demons, our mother might have been able to help us."

"Big words, little girl," the First said, before shifting into their mother. The three gasped in pain and sorrow. "What? Is this figure a bit more painful for you to look at?" The melodious sound of their mother's voice asked. "Oh and that book of yours won't help you either girls." The figure disappeared, leaving the three shaken witches where they were.

"All right, that wasn't fun," Phoebe said, placing her hand on the car. "Damn it," she grumbled as she got a vision. There were three kids stepping out of a flying carriage. The scene shifted, showing a bright orange car with a confederate flag on it. The scene shifted again, showing men and women fighting with swords. Another image showed a man with knives fighting a bunch of ninjas, while two girls were fighting another ninja with a demon mask. A man, wearing some weird, red visor, was being held by a giant in bronze armor. The image changed again, showing people in a castle. Another shift and she watched three men and a woman strapping on military gear and checking funky looking weapons. Another shift and three people in a blue pickup were on the road. "Whoa." She held her head as the ringing in her ears stopped.

"Phoebe, are you all right?"

"Oh yeah, I'm just peachy with a side of keen," she shot at her sisters.

"What did you see?"

"I don't think we're the only ones coming, and I think its going to get bad before it gets better."

"Great," the other two sisters said.

_

* * *

_

**Cheyenne Mountain **

General Hammond waved SG1, Bra'tac, and the leaders of the demon hunters into his office. "Thank you, sir. We'll get to it immediately." The round man hung up the red phone and beamed at the group. "That was the President," he explained.

"We gathered, sir, since you don't often call your granddaughter sir," Jack joked.

Hammond gave his second in command an annoyed look before turning back to the group as a whole. "You have a go, people," he informed them happily. "Operation Heaven vs Hell has been approved by the President himself. Despite the protests of certain individuals," he added, just a little too smugly.

"It's about time," Riley grumbled. "I was about ready to pull a Scooby response; besides school is nearly out."

"What does the school year have to do with anything?" Daniel asked.

"Its what those of us in the supernatural business call Hell month," Graham explained. "Basically, it's when the Hellmouth, or other areas of mystical convergence, get real active, and someone, or something, usually tries to end the world in some way or another. That's probably why the school year is set up the way it is."

"I would have thought a researcher of your caliber would have caught something like that, Dr. Jackson," Commander Finn commented.

"And what is this Scooby?" Bra'tac asked. "I am unfamiliar with this term.

Graham snorted. "I'm telling them you said that." He turned to the leader of the Jaffa resistance. "It basically means telling the higher ups to go take a flying leap, and doing what has to be done in their own style."

"Sound like anyone we know, Jack?" Daniel asked innocently, pushing his glasses up.

"Then what are we waiting for people?" Jack asked, gesturing to the door. "We have to assemble the troops and all that jazz." The others nodded as they left the general to do things like order troop transports for the assault group. Once they were outside the office, Jack began issuing orders. "Teal'c, Sam, and Bra'tac, get the zats and staff weapons ready for people to use. This may be the last time that you get to check them out without drawing attention to yourselves. Finn, you round your people up, make sure we have enough sharpened wood, holy water, and whatever else you think we'll need. Daniel," he said, turning to his friend. "I want you to go over those notes one more time, see if you can figure out anything else that might be useful." Everyone nodded as Jack went to round up the other SG teams that were going with them. If he recalled correctly, about half of them were actually off planet. Of course, that only meant he and the general were going to have to do some paperwork juggling to get them where they needed to be.

Hammond looked over the various soldiers with pride. These men and women under his command were ready to serve their country. Or in the case of the Jaffa, they were here to help their allies in a nearly impossible battle. All of them stood at the ready in the hangar bay, a pack by their feet with all the gear they would need. "You men and women have pledged your lives to protect Earth, either from the forces above us or those below. You have always risen to the occasion, and now the forces below are the ones currently threatening us. You are going to go and take these creatures down. Remember as you defeat them, that this is for your planet, your home that you are fighting for."

The soldiers all cheered. "All right, load up people!" Jack ordered, motioning to the flatbed trucks that were on standby. "We've got a lot of ground to cover." Each soldier shouldered their pack and pounded up to the vehicles.

"Good luck, Colonel," Hammond said, offering his hand to his second.

"Thank you, sir," Jack replied, shaking the outstretched hand.

"Now go save your family," the general ordered.

"Yes sir, thank you, sir," he repeated, slipping his sunglasses on as he headed to the trucks.

Sam Finn was standing by his truck, waiting for him. "Yes?" he asked. "Something else hasn't shown up, has it?"

"Latest intelligence from Sunnydale, sir. A team was sent in a while ago, without my knowledge, in response to a distress message. A member of the Slayer's team was having troubles due to a glitch in some computer programming. We just now got the report. Riley nearly hit the roof when he read it." Jack nodded as he accepted the file and began reading it. The Billy Idol vampire, or H17 as it was officially called, went by Spike. ' Some people have way too many names/nicknames,' Jack thought to himself as he read. According to this, Spike had his implant break down somehow. The implant had sustained undetermined damage and needed a bit of reworking. When given the choice, his niece had ordered it removed. The girl probably had an idea of the amount of authority she had now when it came to the military and magic. He snorted to himself when he thought of the amount of power she had. He got into the truck and motioned for his driver to lead them out, while he read the rest of the report. Who knew, he might be able to find out something new about her.

_

* * *

_

**New York City**

Harry felt someone nudging him awake. "What?" he asked irritably. He was having one of his first decent rests in a long time, and didn't particularly like being shaken awake by his bushy haired friend.

"You need to see this," Hermione said excitedly, pointing out the window. "We're coming up on the States!" Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he saw Ron get a spray of water shot at him. "You're easier to wake up," she answered his unasked question.

"Wuz going on?" Ron mumbled.

"Take a look out the window, Ron," Harry said as he saw what had his friend so excited.

Ron reluctantly did as he was told. "Bloody hell," he said, gazing outside. Hermione didn't say anything to him as she stuck her own head out the window. They all looked with admiration at the huge form of the Statue of Liberty.

"It's beautiful," Hermione said as she looked at the figure holding its torch as a guiding beacon in the late night. The boys nodded, not sure how to respond to that statement. The thestral circled the statue a couple of times before landing at the statues' base.

"I guess this is a rest stop," Harry said lightly as they got out of the carriage.

"Is this safe?" Hermione asked cautiously as she looked around. "I mean, there are guards all over the place."

"Yeah, but Thanos needs to rest after crossing the ocean, 'Mione, and with our luck, we would have landed somewhere much worse, if we tried to pick an inconspicuous spot. Besides," he said, grinning mischievously. "Are you telling me you can't perform a disillusionment charm? Or that you didn't want to land here?"

Hermione glared at her green-eyed friend. "You planned this didn't you?" She accused.

"Maybe," he said, shrugging as he removed the bit from Thanos's mouth. Hermione shook her head, Harry had an uncanny ability, it seemed, to befriend animals. Fortunately, he had common sense when it came to dangerous animals, unlike Hagrid."There," he said as the horse, that neither she or Ron could see, went to hunt some food. He clapped the animal on the back. "So, is there anything interesting to do here?"

"Only reading, I'm afraid," she answered.

"That a fact?"

"Yes." She threw the invisibility cloak at her friend as she disillusioned herself and Ron. A part of her missed the time when the three of them could slip under that cloak. Of course, back then they had been little kids, and Dumbledore had been alive. Shaking her head, she returned to what they were doing. "On the bright side, though, we'll need to use your brooms." She hid her smile as her friends began grinning. Ron ferried Hermione up to the pedestal balcony, with Harry following behind them. Once they had all landed, Hermione grabbed each boy by his arm and led them to the base of the statue where the poem 'The New Colossus' by Emma Lazarus was. "Look at this," she pointed out in excitement. "So many people have come here to see this and read these words. It's supposed to have all sorts of protective charms on it. And there's a rumor that Frederic Bartholdi learned the proper dimensions from observing giants. Though that's outrageous since he was a muggle."

"We're not gonna get caught by the Yankee Ministry, are we?" Ron asked nervously, cautiously looking down at the open grounds below them.

"No." Hermione turned back to the plaque, quickly going into lecture mode. "The plaque is actually essential to the spell."

"Why?" Harry asked, examining the piece of metal.

__

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman, with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lighting, and her name

Mother of exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me.

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

"Because it's where the base of its power is located. It used to be located up in the torch." She pointed high above them to the flickering device in question. "But because so many high emotions were brought to this spot, the kind of emotions that are helpful in keeping the protections up, it was decided to move it to the plaque. Hogwarts has similar wards placed around it. Why I wouldn't be surprised that the more people love it, the stronger the wards are. Anyway, moving the main emotion sponge actually helped strengthen the wards. So they placed a secondary one near the torch, while the main one is now here."

"Where did you figure all of this out?" Ron asked.

"I read about it in Top 1000 Magical Places to Visit."

The three wandered around the island until Harry noticed that the dark winged horse was now ready to leave. "C'mon, Thanos is back from hunting." The other two nodded, mounting the brooms and flying back down.

"Better recast the charms on the carriage while we're here," Hermione suggested. Nodding, Ron joined her to redo the charms while Harry hooked Thanos up. "Let's go," Hermione said excitedly. They were actually getting close enough now that she knew they might actually be able to get there in time to help.

"All right, boy, same orders as before," Harry told the horse."Get as close to the Hellmouth as you can, but be sure to rest up from time to time."

**

* * *

**

**HP: Grimmauld Place/Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

Remus Lupin sighed as he sat down tiredly in his chair. The werewolf looked up at the head of the table and instead of an old man with twinkling blue eyes there was a woman with a severe bun. "Has there been any word?" he asked the new headmistress hesitantly. On one hand, he was rather proud of the exit the trio had made; it was worthy of the Marauders, and the twins, what with the disappearing act combined with the fireworks. Of course, those three had always been slyer than they were ever given credit for. Personally, he thought if it hadn't been for the war, they would have followed in the footsteps of their predecessors, or at least been people to be wary of. But no, the werewolf thought bitterly, at the end of their first year at school they had survived their first battle and already acting older than their years. Now, when they should be acting like teenagers, they were still acting more mature than they had any right to be. Of course on the other hand, the professor part of him was worried about what they would run into. The man who had been the brains behind the Marauders had lost so much; he didn't think he could stand losing the last piece of his family.

"No, Remus, I am afraid there has still been no word," McGonagall said, her eyes flashing angrily. The woman, along with many members of the Order, was angry at what the three had done. They were also worried about the danger that the Trio would find, out on their own. "In fact, there has been no word for a couple of weeks now. I admit that the fireworks display was very uplifting, but I think I would like to know where they are now."

"As would the Grangers and Weasleys," Mad-Eye added as he sat at the table.

"And the Dursleys?"

"Couldn't care less that Potter has up and disappeared on us," the man said, lighting his pipe.

"Well I just hope they decide to give us some news soon. This is getting to be rather aggravating," Remus said as he accepted a butterbeer. As if summoned by his words, Hedwig flew into the room, landing on the table in front of the headmistress.

The snowy white owl stuck her leg out for the woman, who quickly undid the clasp on the note. McGonagall read the note and frowned. "Remind me to ask Madam Pince for a list of books that Miss Granger checked out of the library when we get back to Hogwarts," she said as she passed the note around.

Dear Headmistress,

You're probably wondering where we are right now. This note will tell you our location after you have read the letter and copy of events that are in Dobby's possession. The notes are under several protection charms that I found in the library. The defenses are somewhat more dangerous than the ones that protected the Sorcerer's Stone. You need to deactivate the wards carefully or the notes will burn up.

Remus chuckled at this. "Better hope there are no puzzle spells on them, or we could be here for a long time."

"What makes you say that?" Moody growled.

"Hermione is dangerously bright and might have left a puzzle that we wouldn't understand."

"Let's get to finding these notes then," the grizzled man said, rising to his feet.

"Yes, we'll have to go to the castle and find Dobby. Then we can see what Hermione has left for us."

"Right, let's go," McGonagall said. "Bill, I know you're still a little weak, but I think you might be helpful in this." The redheaded curse breaker nodded and followed his former teacher out with the other two that were leading the Order.

Four hours later they had finally gotten past the last of the wards guarding the notes. Mad-Eye and Bill ran several spells over it, checking for curses that might be hidden in them.

"All clear," the young man finally said as the light from the last spell faded. "Remind me to never make Hermione angry. She knows way too many spells."

Remus picked the book up and began reading. He groaned after the first few pages. "I know where they went," he said." Though I can't believe even they are crazy enough to go there."

"And where is that?"

"The Hellmouth in Sunnydale, California. I once met a werewolf from there. He was looking for something to cure or control the wolf." Remus smiled fondly, remembering the quiet young man that had carried a guitar on his back.

"We'll read this, while you get a team of Order members together, Alastor," McGonagall ordered. Mad-Eye nodded and went to round up the few wizards with decent fighting skills. "What were they thinking?"

"They were thinking that someone needed their help," Remus replied said, handing her the letter.

"I remember Miss Granger getting this," she said. "She was oddly quiet after she got it."

"Well, now we know why. Come on, we have research to do," the werewolf said. "I wonder if my contact would want to help."

"Is he capable of surviving there?"

"He's a muggle werewolf that survived several years on his own there. It's been a few years since I talked to him, though."

"See if you can find him," she ordered as she began summoning the reference books that Granger had suggested.


	12. Demon BBQ

**Truck Stop BBQ**

next chapter will see a return to my usual disclaimers.

* * *

**L.A. Police Department **

A detective sat sadly in his chair, looking out the window of his office; an office he felt he didn't deserve right now. He was one of the few clean cops in the city, yet he had easily become a member of Jasmine's followers. He had seen what corrupted cops could be like, he had started out under a cop that had been corrupt, and like a good officer he had just followed orders, often skating the edge of being a bad cop himself. But that didn't mean that he had enjoyed it; at the time, it had been the one job that he was not only good at, but it was the one that he had dreamed of all his life. He tiredly ran his hand through his hair as he tried to figure out where he had gone wrong. He was almost ready to turn in his shield and gun at the moment and was wondering if he could go home after everything that had happened. Could he even face his closest friends after everything?

Sighing, he toyed with the radio that he usually kept on at all times; it reminded him of the life he had left behind when he came to the big city. Idly, he remembered a friend of his that had quit the force, or rather was forced off, after she began raising a ruckus over something that her P.I. friend had let her in on. Kate's dad had been one of his mentors when he had first joined the L.A.P.D. Should he quit? He didn't know for sure, but what he did know was that right now he couldn't with a clean conscious, after though, well he'd just have to see.

His hand fell in shock as he heard a familiar voice coming across the speaker. "This is Shepard calling gumdrops, over." The voice sounded tired, as if it had been calling for quite a while.

Swallowing, the detective shakily picked up the mike. "Uncle Jesse, that really you?"

"Enos! Where the heck have you been? Do you have any idea how long I've been on this blasted radio?"

"No, sir, Uncle Jesse. Fact is I just now turned my radio on."

"You just turned your radio on?" Enos winced as Uncle Jesse yelled into the radio. The old man was obviously in a very bad mood.

"Yes, sir," the detective answered, feeling almost like he was back home about to get a dressing down.

"Enos Strate! Have you forgotten everything you ever learned in Hazzard? You know better than to cut yourself off from communication like that! How many times has having a radio nearby saved your life?"

"I lost count, sir. But we don't use radios much in the city."

"Really, and what do you use?"

"Cell phones, sir."

"Oh, well aren't we all modern now?" Uncle Jesse said sarcastically. "You listen to me, and you listen to me good, Enos. You get your butt into your car and meet us on the outskirts of town. We have a lot to talk about."

"Well Uncle Jesse, why don't you come on into town and…"

"Enos, I don't put my foot down often with you, but this time I am. You will meet me. We have a lot to talk to about. Unless you're not interested in seeing Daisy," the old man added slyly.

"Daisy's with you?" Enos asked in surprise.

"You better believe I am, sugar pie," another voice came over the radio said, reminding the man of his former life. Back then picnics with her had been one of the most important things he had on his mind. "And I got a hug all for you when you get here."

"But I…"

"C'mon, Enos, it'll be just like old times," another voice chimed in said.

"Bo?"

"That's right, Enos, we're all here," Luke said.

"This is Crazy Cooter. I may be dumb, but I ain't crazy Comeback, Enos."

"But who's watching the farm?" the now fully bewildered detective asked in shock as he tried to figure out what was going on.

"Vance and Coy are taking care of it. And don't try and change the subject," Uncle Jesse said.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now get on down to that truck stop you told us about. We need to talk."

"Yes, sir," Enos replied, throwing the radio down and heading for the door.

Enos opened the door and saw his partner looking at him curiously. "What was that all about, big guy?" He nodded toward the radio. "Sounded like you were being chewed out or something."

"Err… kind of. Look, I have to go and take care of something; you mind holding the fort down for a while?"

"Sure," the man replied. He then watched as his partner, who was still dressed in a sports jacket and tie, ran out the door. Everyone watched the detective rush out. Since he was usually so calm, there were more than a few mouths hanging open as the detective actually slid across the hood of his car as he rushed to get to the other side. Enos then peeled out of the parking lot. He didn't even bother with the regular way, but jumped the sidewalk in his car somehow.

"What the hell has gotten into Strate?" one man asked.

"Who cares? Where the hell did he learn how to peel out like that?" another questioned admiringly as they watched the sedan disappear into the LA streets life.

* * *

**Truck Stop **

Enos pulled into the truck stop and looked around hesitantly, not believing his eyes. There, on the back of a familiar white pickup truck, sat four men and a woman that he hadn't seen since he had moved from Georgia.

Detective Enos Strate of the LAPD shook his head for a moment as he looked at the figures sitting there. He got out of his car and was immediately noticed by his old friends. "Enos!" the woman cried, jumping down and running at the delighted detective. He held her for a minute, oblivious to the jealous glares that a number of men were shooting him. "Well bust my gumdrops. You guys are really here."

"Sure we are, Enos. Just wish it was under better circumstances," Luke said, pulling his old friend into a brotherly hug.

"Is Uncle Boss giving you boys grief again?" he asked his friends after he had embraced Bo and Uncle Jesse. "'Cause you know there's not a whole lot I can do out here, right?"

"Naw, it's got nothing to do with Boss," Luke replied. "It actually has to do with our family. How about you sit down and we'll explain it all to you?"

"Well, all right," Enos agreed, grinning nervously at his friend. Whenever Luke got that tone of voice, it usually meant that he was planning something. He remembered some of the jailbreaks that Luke had thought up, which had usually ended with him stuck in a cell, or Roscoe and him stuck in a pile on the floor.

"Come on, we'll even buy you some dinner," Luke offered as he led them into the diner. The Dukes then showed him the papers they had secreted under the seat in Uncle Jesse's truck. He listened as they summarized the problem they were facing. "You're going in after them, aren't you?" he asked the group, but specifically looked at Bo and Luke.

"We have to, Enos. It's what family does," Bo answered.

"And the boys are like family to me," Cooter said. "So I have to be there with them."

"So, Enos, do you want to help? Or do you want to pretend like none of this ever happened?" Jesse asked quietly, tucking his reading glasses away.

"I don't know. I mean I feel like such a failure right now. I actually joined a bunch of dirty cops in doing a manhunt that wasn't legal. I'm not fit to wear this," he said, tossing his badge on the table.

The others looked like they wanted to say something, but at a look from Daisy they all got quiet for a moment as she cupped her hands in his. "Enos, sugar plum, look at me," She wheedled. Turning his head upward, he looked at his old flame. "You say you want to help people, but you don't know how right now 'cause you feel like you keep running into problems with people that run the system. I don't claim to understand all that stuff, but I do know that you're a good man, and that if you really want to prove that your not like your uncle, then helping people would be a good start."

"Yeah, but…"

"But nothing, sweet pie. While it's still your choice, just think for a moment what might happen if you don't help."

Enos looked up, a new hardness to his eyes. He may have betrayed his oaths, but he would fight for the world, just like the Dukes. "Count me in."

The Dukes all grinned at him. "Ain't that just disgustingly sweet?" a figure said as it sauntered into view. The man was dressed all in leather. "I mean seriously, what can you hope to accomplish taking on the First? It'd be better if you all just turned around and headed back to whatever little place you crawled out of."

"Don't suppose that we could talk about this somewhere a little less public, do ye lad?" a man said from a table where a half a dozen people were sitting.

"Are you sure you want to do that, Highlander? I'm sure your friends would be more than happy to participate in this. After all, you're all here to help the Slayer, aren't ya?" Everyone in the rest stop stiffened at the name, meaning different things to different people. Several people dressed as bikers growled menacingly as they stood up, as did a number of other patrons, alongside the man who had spoken, whose face now shifted, showing the monster that hid beneath the surface. The group that the vampire had turned to now pulled out a number of swords much to everyone's surprise. A dark haired teen that had been eating a hamburger stood up between his table and what might be his parents.

"Back off, dust for brains," a new voice said as two guys entered the hostile room.

"And who are you? You're not on the guest list," the vampire said, his eyes glowing yellow. "After all, I have the list right here, and you're simply not on it," he said, holding up a piece of paper.

"What can I say? I was never one for playing by the rules like that," the guy replied carelessly, keeping his weapon trained on the leader.

"It's true. He's more of a party crasher than anything else," the second guy said, holding a stake in his hand. "I'm the one that usually ends up cleaning up his mess and apologizing."

"Oh, and the name's Dean. Geek boy behind me is Sam."

"Do you always have to add in the geek part?" the dark haired guy asked.

"Eh, it's habit," the blonde said as he leveled a sawed off shotgun at the lead vamp. "So, you got any more friends out there you want to invite to this? Or do we go ahead and get this party started?"

"You're the Winchester brothers," the vampire said. Hearing this, a few of the demons that had been hidden in the shadows stepped forward, cracking their knuckles dangerously.

"Oh, so you've heard of us then?" Dean asked with a cocky grin. "Then you know it's not a smart thing to go and hurt people with us around."

"I know about you. You're the guys that handle spirits." The vampire smirked evilly. "Too bad for you, this ain't that kind of fight."

"MacLeod, we got Bringers outside," one of the sword wielders said as he gazed out the window

"All right, the Bringers are human and since we're a little low on weaponry, we'll handle them," Luke said.

"I'm with you," a man that looked like an older version of Bo said. "Martha, you come with me. Clark, help these people, then help us; is that understood?"

"But dad…"

"Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," the teen agreed reluctantly. The man nodded and patted his son on the shoulder before heading for the door. He picked up a discarded broom and tossed it to the guy who could have been his younger self.

"Thank you kindly, sir," Bo said, taking a few swings with the weapon. He had fought many a bar fight with a pool cue; he hoped the same principles would work for this kind of fight.

"Oh, and Clark?"

"Yeah, dad?"

"You're allowed to hit these guys as hard as you want," Jonathan Kent told his son before he walked outside to fight the Bringers.

"You help in here, bro," Dean said, following the men out where he hoped his shotgun would be of use against the Bringers, and hoping he hadn't just signed his brother's death warrant.

"Well, those Bringers ought to keep them busy while we handle you. Then we can finish them off nice and slow," the vampire said, licking his lips in anticipation.

"I don't think so. You're not going to hurt my parents," Clark promised, glaring at the vampire. Everyone watched as his eyes flashed red, and a heat blast caught the vampire in the chest. The vampire screamed in pain as it fell away into a pile of ash and dust.

"Get them!" a demon ordered, and the dark creatures all rushed toward the group of heroes around them. Sam Winchester, roving demon hunter, headed toward one of the other vampires. He tried to find an opening to use the stake in his hand. The swordsmen all met the demons that were standing against them.

"Come on, boy, show me what they teach you hunters," the vampire sneered at the younger Winchester as he dodged the stake that Sam held. "They say you have power, boy. That you're a threat to possessor demons. If what they say is true, then maybe it's past time we vampires dealt with you and your brother."

Sam leaped at the vampire. 'I am not going to lose anymore family!' he thought fiercely as he brought the cross he had hidden in his other hand onto the vampires throat. The vampire hissed in pain as it knocked the boy back. It rubbed its throat carefully.

"That hurt." It lunged at the dark haired young man. Sam dodged out of the way before his fist could connect. The meaty fist struck a pillar instead. While the vampire was busy dragging its arm out of the wall, Sam ran up to it and staked it. "You bass…" the vamp started before it turned to dust.

Sam let out a relieved smile, rubbing his arm where he had been hit. "That's my brother's line," he joked, before turning to the other demons that were around the room.

Clark Kent burned the vampire that threatened his family easily with his heat vision. He then ran at super speed until he was behind the biggest of the demons. Grinning like Kal-El, he tapped it on the shoulder.

Turning, the demon was surprised to see the human boy with the burning eyes. "Well," it said smugly, facing the boy. "Have you come to try and burn me now, boy? Something you need to know is that a demon can stand the fires of Hell better than a pathetic vampire. So what makes you think that you're fire sight will hurt me?" The demon was then treated to a fist striking it in the face. 'Despite his fragile human appearance, the boy punches harder than a Hellgod!' the demon thought as the fist connected.

"Stay away from my family!" the boy yelled as the demon was sent flying through the glass window and into an eighteen-wheeler. There was a noticeable dent in the truck as the demon slid down the side.

"What power!" the demon muttered as it got back up. It turned as it heard another impact sound, and saw a small arrow stuck in the fuselage of the truck. The demon smiled at this. 'Even when they have their tools, the humans are pathetic.' It never noticed the sparking stick as it blew up the arrow, the fuel in the truck, and itself.

Connor MacLeod, the Highlander, twirled his sword as he faced off against the pale demon in front of him that had horns jutting out the sides of it's head. "C'mon, ye cheap Alien reject, show me what ye got!" he challenged the demon. Growling, the demon lunged at the Immortal. Spinning, he dodged the heavy claws that would have likely opened him up. Continuing his spin, he brought his own sword against the back of the monster. The green blood that spurted from the wound caused the Highlander to grin.

Turning around, the demon savagely backhanded the longhaired man, sending him flying into the wall on the other side of the room. He felt several of his ribs break from the impact.

"I will feast on your Immortal bones for many years, Highlander," the demon rasped as it tried to pin him to the ground with its claws.

Methos' sword came down, severing the arm. "Thanks," Connor said to the other Immortal as he lunged back at the demon. He drew a hidden dagger and it stuck in the demon's throat. Then, while the creature was pawing at the metal, he sliced his sword through its other hand. He then kicked the demon in the face and brought his weapon down through it's head.

"No free meals this time, lad," the Highlander said, withdrawing his knife. He turned to fight another demon that was getting ready to slice Ritchie to bits.

Luke Duke grimaced as he dodged a knife blow. He, Cooter, Enos, and Bo had beaten five of these guys down before the Bringers had drawn their large knives. He was a boxing champion and bar brawler though, not a martial artist like these guys were. So while he was still up, he wasn't sure how much longer he was going to be. He just barely ducked a high kick, but managed a one two combo into the robed figure's gut. He then sent a powerful uppercut to the chin; while the guy was stumbling back, he turned to look at the others. It looked like it was only through teaming up, that they were even holding their own against these guys.

"Luke, I believe this is for you!" Cooter called from where he stood by the General; one hand holding a heavy wrench, the other he was using to toss Luke his bow. Luke snatched the weapon out of the air; four arrows were already set up in the holster. Using the weapon in a different manner than he normally did, he slammed it into the side of the robed man causing him to double over. While the man was down, Luke brought the bow down over his head knocking him out. He looked to the side where Uncle Jesse, another old man, that kid Dean, and a middle-aged couple were shooting at the Bringers from cover. Glad that they were safe, he jogged over to Uncle Jesse's truck and tried to see where he could do the most damage with his bow. Seeing a target, he shot one Bringer in the leg as it stood over his cousin. Bo flashed him a thankful grin before slamming both of his fists into the Bringer.

Luke watched as one of the strange creatures from inside came flying out, striking the cab of a truck. He watched in disbelief as it got up after making a dent in the truck. "I hope this works," he muttered, lighting a stick of dynamite. He then shot the arrow at the gas tank that was to the side. "Take cover!" he yelled as he jumped to the other side of the truck and watched the explosion happen. Hopefully, it would also hurt some of the Bringers.

Bo Duke stumbled as he swung his makeshift weapon. The fight had started out all right; the four young men had hit the men in black robes with everything they had, and had surprised them with the fighting style they used. The robed figures seemed to have been caught off guard with the tackle and pin style that the men used. Unfortunately that surprise had been short lived, and they were now swinging large knives at them. He raised his staff to block one slash, and watched as the weapon tore through the broomstick he held. "Great," he muttered, tossing the stick pieces to the side. He tried to mirror the pose that they had held earlier as he watched the man near him. The figure punched him in the face and then the stomach. Gasping for air, Bo looked up at the figure holding a knife over his head. He was sure he was a goner, when an arrow hit the man in the thigh. Not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, he came up and slammed both of his fists into the Bringer. He then yanked the arrow that was imbedded in the Bringer's leg out, while it stumbled Bo kicked it in the head.

Shaking his head, he turned to see another of Luke's arrows hit a truck. "Take cover!" he heard. Not bothering to question Luke, Bo ran to the General and slid across the hood, crouching behind the stockcar next to Cooter. The exploding truck knocked both of them down.

"Whoo ya!" a blonde man and his greasy companion cried as they looked at the remains of the explosion. Everyone then got back up carefully as they surveyed the mess it had left in its wake.

"We need to leave now," Mr. Kent said, looking around at the mess from the fight. "I really don't want to answer a lot of questions when someone comes to investigate."

"Aye, yer right," Joe agreed, dusting his hands off. "Does everyone know the way to Sunnydale? Good. We can do introductions when we meet this Buffy girl. Else we'll be here another hour trying to understand who's who, and I think it would be better if we got going." Everyone nodded in agreement as they loaded up.

"Well, bro, what do you think?" Dean asked as he checked over the Impala for a moment, while the other people were gathering their own gear.

"I think we should help them," Sam answered.

"Good," Dean said. "Cause I'd really hate having to leave you here to explain all of this." He waved at the remains of the truck stop. Grinning, Sam got in and let Dean drive after these people that had demons after them for some reason.


	13. Trust Issues

**Trust Issues**

"Flame On!" A voice cries as a fireball is thrown at the texaswookie.

Grumbling the texaswookie just barely manages to dodge the ball of fire and as it is the chair that he was sitting in catches on fire. The Human Torch smirks at the Texan.

Was that really necessary? And you're not even in this story, so why do you care?

"Actually I am in this chapter remember? Even If Reed and Sue got more time than I did. Which is extremely wrong by the way.

"Eh, you're an arrogant attention seeker, besides you insulted Hockey in this chapter. For that you just had to be punished. I could have had Ben give you some wedgies instead."

"Fine, but you still have to say it." Johnny Storm said, as he formed one of his fireballs.

"Fine for those of ya'll that haven't caught the hint yet, I don't own any of these universes that are being used in this story of mine. For a more complete look check earlier chapters. And The FF belong to Marvel as well, in case you decided to skip the credits for that movie." The Human Torch sighs in disappointment, as he extinguishes the fireball.

* * *

**Westchester, New York: Xavier Mansion sub levels **

Logan bumped Alex in the shoulder roughly as he passed the younger Summers boy. The feral mutant refused to consider him as anything other than a boy after what he had done.

Alex opened his mouth to call the short mutant on his action, but decided against it. He just rubbed his arm where the heavier mutant had hit him. He knew he deserved the cold treatment that some of the others were giving him; it didn't make it any more bearable, though. Of course, it was better than the pity that most of the others were giving him.

"You may be smarter than you look," Nightcrawler said from the shadows, stepping out of the darkness. "I was wondering if you would try and call him down after what he did. He would not mind a fight right now, actually. And unless you got in several lucky shots, you could be in for quite a bit of pain."

Alex nodded; he had seen what the guy had done to the Danger Room. Logan had destroyed all sorts of things in there, and in about half the time it would have taken Alex to do the same. "What more does he want from me?" he asked the blue furred mutant. "It's not like I don't feel bad about it all. I am trying to be objective now when it comes to him."

"True, but Herr Logan is not angry about your behavior regarding him. He and I have long grown accustomed to the judgments of others. Where as people see a demon when they see me, when they look at him all they see is an animal that needs to be kept in a cage until it is needed." Kurt Wagner shook his head sadly as he stared in the direction of the short mutant. The others had only had a few days worth of experience at Weapon X; he and Logan had much more experience in that place. Only they, and possibly Xavier, who had been in their minds, knew all that could happen there

"Really? Then what is it that he's so angry about?"

"You have caused grief for his girls," Nightcrawler explained as if it was the most common thing in the world. "For this, there is not an easy escape. You should be glad that they have stopped him from trying to exact revenge for them. They are not happy with you, but they are willing to give you a chance, for the moment."

Alex nodded in understanding; the Professor had been the same with Scott, Hank, Jean, and Ororo. No one was allowed to hurt his kids when they were growing up, and it looked like Logan shared that mind set. At least no one could try it without having to answer to the Professor. Of course, he somehow felt that if the girls hadn't stopped Wolverine, he would have gotten more than a scare and a headache. He probably would have been lucky if he'd been able to walk after Wolverine was done with him. "Don't suppose you happen to know where his girls are now? Maybe I should…"

"Stay away from them," Nightcrawler finished for him, his eyes glowing slightly.

"Well, actually, I was thinking that it might help if I… I don't know… saw how they were doing and stuff like that?"

"The girls are not Wolverine's favorites for no reason, Herr Summers. Both girls used most of their control to convince Herr Logan not to gut you. However, I do not think that they are ready to talk to you. You have also caused more damage than you can possibly comprehend," the blue mutant said. "You have estranged the two girls from the romantic interests in their lives. Where as normally they would have gone and confided in their counterparts, they now cannot because they are the problem."

Alex shifted uncomfortably at this, but knew there was nothing he could say. "The fact is, that even their very teamwork has been affected by the dark words that you used. The four of them may only be a backup team, but they were good at what they did. Now the girls are having trouble trusting in the boys, if they are so willing to doubt them. Peter is also seeing another mutant girl now."

Alex winced at this; he knew how girls could be over their dates sometimes. How many times had Lorna hurt people, or come close to it, when another woman showed interest in him? "And she actually defended me?"

"Yes, but make no mistake, if you think it's because she cares that her friends are happy, then you are mistaken. She just will not lower herself to the same level as Callisto has, when it comes to being around Peter. She now thinks that she will replace the co-commander on the team, despite the fact that Kitty is her superior in every way."

"And Drake?"

"Iceman and Rogue are better; they are used to having strains placed on their relationship. This is but another hurdle for them, I believe. Of course, it could also be the proverbial straw to break the camel's back," the German mused.

"I guess I better go do what I can to help with the repairs, huh?"

"Yes, mein friend, I think that would be an excellent plan." The two disappeared in a cloud of smoke and brimstone. They reappeared in the hangar to see Beast, Shadowcat, Rogue, and Iceman working on the Blackbird. The other X-Men were all upstairs, or working with the other students.

"Hey, Kurt," Bobby said, waving to the blue mutant. The only sign that he noticed Havoc was the clenching of his fist and the drop in temperature. "Think you can head for the top and measure how big the hole is on that side?" His breath was coming out in puffs as he fought for control of his temper and powers.

"Of course," the mutant said, his tail snagging a measuring tape from the floor. He disappeared again, reappearing on top of the jet.

"Is their anything I can do?"

Bobby opened his mouth to say something, but a quick jab in the stomach from his girlfriend silenced him. The younger mutant settled for just glaring at Havoc, before turning back to his work. "Why don't you employ your impressive handiness over there, my friend?" Hank said, pointing with one of his blue furred feet at a nearby table filled with circuit boards in various damaged states. "If you will, scrutinize which ones they are, and see about apprehending the obligatory replacement components from over there." He pointed with his other foot at the supply cabinet that held all of the replacement parts for the supposedly experimental jet. "It would be most accommodating."

Havoc nodded as he went over to the bench and looked at all the damage that he had done to the internal pieces of the jet when he had been acting like an idiot. Hopefully, they could get this all done before things got any worse. 'And what could be worse?' he seethed to himself. 'My baby cousin is dead and it's all my fault.' Scott had protected him, and he had protected Buffy. That was the way it was supposed to work; he could still remember their fathers saying that! It was one of the few family memories that he had of his father, and he had let the man down! When he had found out about everything, he had learned that his occasional look into Buffy had been nothing more than a smoke screen that someone had set up. It had been set up to either to keep her from learning about the blood that her family had, or to keep them away from her.

"Guilt like that tears ya up, don't it boy?" Wolverine commented as he looked with distaste at Havoc.

"Yeah, it does."

"Well listen to me, boy, and listen good," the mutant growled as he stood over the taller man. "My girls, fer some reason, are willing to ignore what ya've done ta em. Step out of line, though, and I'll explain to em that unlike when they were doing stupid things, you weren't under any kind of power that ya had no control of."

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean I ain't forgot that this First idiot can't touch anything. Ya ain't been under any kind of mind control, which means that the only way you could of done this was if you were manipulated verbally. It was all you, wasn't it?" Shaking slightly, Havoc nodded. "Well, let me explain something to ya, Summers. I'll even say it nice and slow, so that you'll actually be able ta understand what it is I'm saying. When my girls got infected with darkness, they didn't have a choice. And whatever changes were made to them, were forced on 'em. Ya think I like the fact that they've had to become touched by the dark, boy? They were kids at the time, confused and scared when it happened. Do you think that Marie wanted Magneto in her head? Or that Kitty wanted something similar ta happen ta her?"

"You make it sound like they didn't have a choice," Havoc said.

"Rogue still can't control her abilities. I'd figure someone like you would at least be understandin' of something like that."

"And why would I understand?"

"Because she's in the same boat as yer brother," Wolverine growled. "She can't turn her powers off any more than your brother can turn his eyebeams off. That's why, where most girls doing heavy work like she is when their boy is around, would be doing it in some cute kind of tank top or something, making me want to skewer the boy for looking at her, she has to wear a light long sleeve shirt and gloves so she doesn't hurt anybody."

Havoc looked at the girl with a stripe of white hair through her brown locks hair. "I didn't know."

"Oh it gets better, boy. Ya see that bit oh white in her hair?" Havoc nodded dumbly at the growled question. "Well, ya know how a person that gets scared to death ends up with white hair? Well Rogue was terrified enough by what she saw in both my head, and Magneto's, to scare her that bad. Kitty has a lot of similar traumas of her own, because of her time in Japan. And because of what happened, she nearly killed me and several other people. And she had no control over what she was doing. Just like Rogue 'cause she has no control of her powers. But you, boy? You had a choice. And you decided we were nothing but monsters, because we've been targets of some evil people. You ever try anything on it, though, and I will gut ya so fast ya won't know what happens unless I want ya to. Got it?"

Havoc nodded as Logan went to help with some of the damage. "I hope he has made his point, Alex," Xavier said, rolling up beside Havoc. "It would be rather difficult to explain to Scott what happened to you."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Then I won't have to warn you about doing anything to further your thoughts."

"And what are my thoughts, sir?" Alex asked.

"That while you may have misjudged the situation, you had all the proof you needed to come up with those theories. All I ask for now is that you act professionally, and try to work with them all. Preferably, without trying to cause problems."

"Sure, I'll do that," Havoc replied, heading off to get the parts he needed. Several hours later,all of the systems and blasted parts had been replaced, leaving the jet in perfect condition.

Scott came down and looked at the jet. He nodded and then looked at the assembled group that was waiting for his word. "Suit up," he ordered. "We've got a world to save." The others nodded as they finished putting their tools away. They put on their black uniforms with the large X on the chest. Some of the uniforms had additions to them, like Storms cape or Cyclops's visor. Colossus stood up and removed the sleeves from his jacket. He then gave a weak grin as Callisto came in to bid him goodbye.

"I wish that I could go with you," she said, holding him for a moment.

"Da, I wish that you could, too," Colossus replied. "Perhaps with a little more training, you shall be able to," he comforted her. Callisto looked over his broad shoulder with a smirk at Kitty, who was finishing some last minute adjustments to the jet, and ignoring them.

Storm glared slightly at the couple, before she turned to the guests that Xavier was giving a tour to. "And here are all of the security codes. I'm sure that the four of you should be able to run the school for a few days."

"Of course, Professor Xavier. this will truly be an honor."

"You better give me those, Reed. Besides, we know you don't have the head for administration," the woman beside him said, holding her hand out to him.

Reed Richards nodded, handing the codes over to his fiancée. "Whipped," the biggest and strongest of the four said, shaking his head sadly. "Come on, matchstick. Let's go introduce ourselves to the rest of the people."

"Sounds like a plan," Johnny Storm, AKA The Human Torch, told his rocky hided companion as the two went off to find something to do. "I mean it beats watching hockey."

"Hey! I happen to like hockey," The Thing said to his teammate as the door shut behind them.

"I hope you're able to determine what's going on down there," Mr. Fantastic said, shaking hands with the group, which was all the more interesting as his feet never moved, but his arm managed to extend to Kitty who was forty feet away.

"As do I," Cyclops replied. "Let's head out X-men." The team boarded the jet and took off.

"Good luck," Sue Richards, AKA The Invisible Girl, said as she watched the jet hover for a moment before it took off.

Xavier turned to Scott, who was piloting. "Switch to hover mode." Scott nodded, though he didn't know what they were doing. "Storm, Kitty, you know what to do." Nodding, the teen and woman phased out of the jet.

"Where are they going, sir?"

"To warn the last people," the Professor said simply.

The two women landed on the roof and walked up to the four figures that were waiting for them. Three of them were regular humans. One dressed in red armor, had enhanced senses; one wore black combat armor, the only thing that wasn't black was the white skull painted on his shirt. Another one of the figures was a woman that worked for the highest bidder. They were Dare Devil, Punisher, and Electra, three of the most deadly humans out there. The last one, it was unknown whether he was a mutant, human, or something else. Spiderman took his folder, and then jumped off the roof of the building with a reckless abandon. Daredevil nodded as he took his own, pausing to grasp Electra by the shoulder before he disappeared into the shadows. The woman followed his example, but headed in a different direction. Punisher flipped his open, nodded, and then headed for the door on the roof.

"Let's go," Storm said as she flew them upwards. Shadowcat phased them both through the jet. "Mission accomplished, Professor. And please never ask me to hand that man anything again." Storm shivered; despite all her power, she couldn't shake the feeling that the Punisher could have killed her easily.

"Good. Next stop Sunnydale." Cyclops nodded as he steered them westward.

* * *

**Truck Stop, Again**

Prue and Piper stood back while Phoebe looked around in shock at the truck stop that she had stopped at from time to time. The place had a reputation for having some of the best hamburgers. The place had been completely trashed, though. Where there had once been a friendly diner, there was now the shell of a building and a smoking crater where a truck had blown up. The three of them were almost afraid to go in, afraid of what they might find. Prue clicked her phone shut. "The police said they'd be here as soon as they can, to check this out," she said, waving her hand at the mess before them.

"You know, that doesn't exactly fill me with a whole lot of confidence, since they haven't noticed this mess on their own yet," Piper commented.

"She's right, you know. We saw this smoke from a couple miles away, yet they haven't sent any kind of emergency vehicles to check it out. I mean, come on! Even I'm not that oblivious."

"As much as I hate to admit it, Phoebe actually has a bit of a point," Prue admitted.

"You know, I really hate it when you two start agreeing on something," Piper said in annoyance. "It usually means that something really, really bad is about to happen, or has already happened."

"Yeah, well just be glad you don't have any jinx worthy habits," Phoebe shot back. "Oh wait, you do," she said as if she just realized something. "Every other time you go on a date, we end up having to vanquish him." Piper glared at her younger sister, but couldn't say anything because sadly she was right.

"Yeah, well can you two have that conversation in the car?" Prue asked as she wandered around the parking lot. "Unless you want to explain to the cops what we're doing when they finally get here? Something I'm not sure of myself."

"Um, hoping that despite all of this they might still be serving?" Phoebe suggested almost hopefully.

"Cute," Prue replied, kneeling in the dirt in front of one of the windows. She glanced at the handful of cars that were still here. For some reason or another, most of them had blacked out windows, making it nearly impossible to see enough to drive. She turned back to the window she was looking at, wondering why it had attracted her. Her eyes wandered toward the ground and she suddenly understood what had drawn her here. "Hey guys, take a look at this," she said, pointing to the broken glass where one of the windows had shattered.

"What?" Piper asked, kneeling beside Prue. "A lot of the windows are cracked or broken. What's so special about this one?"

"The way the glass shards are, for one," Prue answered, going into lecture mode. "If this one had broken like the others, because of the explosion, the glass would have been on the inside instead of the outside."

"Which means?"

"It means, that whatever caused this window to break, it came from inside the diner. And depending on how fast whatever hit the window was traveling, there's a chance that it hit the truck and made it blow up."

"Okay, it's official. You and Andy spent way too much time together talking, and not enough making out." Phoebe paused as she realized that she was attacking a soft spot of Prue's.

"Sorry, but not all of us are as sex starved as you," Prue reminded her sister coolly.

"Okay, that's enough," Piper said, coming between her sisters yet again. The two women backed off and looked around for a few more minutes.

"I guess we should check the inside."

"Think we'll have enough time before the police or someone comes?"

Phoebe was about to answer when several army trucks pulled up. "Oh great," she muttered. "Think someone will try and blame this one on us as well?"

"No telling," Prue replied as she sidled in front of her sisters. She would defend her family no matter what.

Several people began getting out, examining the damage that had been caused. The sisters noticed that the people didn't seem to realize that they were all carrying guns while examining the area. "This could definitely be trouble," Piper said, eyeing the guns distastefully.

The man that appeared to be in charge made his way up to them. "Hope you don't mind telling us what happened," He said lightly, though there was a bit of steel in his voice. The man was possibly old enough to be their father; if the amount of gray hairs he had was any kind of indicator.

"Wish we could," Prue answered warily. While a part of her felt that she could trust him, she knew that talking about magic wasn't the smartest thing to do right now. "We saw the smoke from a couple miles off and decided to investigate. We called the cops and have been listening for anyone that might be inside."

"Hear anything?" he asked as he eyed the truck stop, looking for a way in that wasn't through the front door.

"Nothing," she admitted. "Though we're pretty sure there were some people here when this happened."

"Why's that?" the man asked, obviously fighting an eye roll.

"Well, the splattered blood that's all over this place was a pretty good indication," she told the soldier dryly.

The man nodded in agreement. "You usually make a habit of stopping at disaster areas?" The man obviously didn't want them here, and it was possible that he might not want to be here himself.

Before Prue could respond, Phoebe snapped her fingers. "Wait a minute, you're one of the people from my vision."

"Are you sure, Phoebes?" Prue asked, not sure she wanted to team up with this guy.

"Yeah, I kind of have to be good at spotting people in order to understand what's happening in them."

"Um, excuse me, still here," the graying man interjected.

"Sorry," Piper said. "They're the rude ones. I'm…"

"Piper Haliwell," a blonde man finished, coming up behind the older man "You three lost? 'Cause this isn't exactly your usual stomping grounds."

"You know us?" Prue asked in nervous surprise.

"Yes. We got your names when we were doing a background check on a relative of yours. And you've recently been getting into a lot of trouble, or at the very least been around when trouble is. Makes one wonder if it's a family thing, but you've done nothing to warrant an investigation," the man said, shrugging. "I presume you're on your way to check on Buffy?"

"Yeah."

"If you go there, it will be dangerous," the man warned.

"We'll be careful," Piper assured them before giving her sisters a meaningful look. "Right?"

"Sure," the other two answered with innocent smiles that didn't fool the middle sister one bit.

"As safe as we can be, at least, under the circumstances," Phoebe added, continuing to smile brightly at her sister.

"Absolutely." Prue nodded, neither of them backing down under the glare Piper was sending them.

"Right," the first soldier said, obviously amused by the sisters. "The name's Jack. Jack O'Neill. Buffy's my niece somewhere on the family tree. At least, according to her mom's record keeping," he joked lightly since he had never met the woman, and it would be just his luck that they actually had. "If you want someone to explain that sort of stuff, I'll get Daniel to explain it to you. 'Cause there is no way that I would be able to go through all of that stuff."

"Or we could get Prue to do it," Phoebe said. "If you can believe it, it's actually the sort of thing that she gets paid to do." She and Jack shuddered in mock disgust.

'Amazing. Keeping his my mouth in control has actually prevented me from getting slapped,' Jack thought. 'But it's certainly not as much fun.'

"Hah, hah," Prue said dryly. "I'll remember that," She promised them both.

"Buffy's our eldest cousin's daughter. The one with the attitude is Prue, and the one that likes to mouth off is Phoebe.

"A pleasure to meet you," the soldier boy said, shaking their hands.

"Don't suppose I could convince you to turn back?" Jack asked hopefully.

"Not really."

"Fine. The man you've just shaken hands with, is Agent Riley Finn; his wife is the shorter blonder over there. Her name is Commander Sam Finn. She's co-commander of this little group for now." He pointed to a blonde woman in fatigues and combat gear. "The taller blonde is Major Samantha Carter," he said, pointing to another blonde in a green jumpsuit, with slightly different gear. "Then there's Daniel Jackson, Graham Miller, Murray, and his partner Bray. They make up our command staff."

"We've called in a cleanup squad, sir. They'll have this whole place cleaned up in about an hour," a soldier reported to the two men. Finn nodded at the report. Evidently, enough had been overheard that the soldiers were going to try and scare them off. Of course, if the stubbornness that was in Buffy and Jack was a family trait, then the guy had about as much hope of succeeding as he did in being able to figure out how many of those letters actually got out. "We also found the remains of some type of hostile."

"Good."

"Oh yeah, before I forget," Jack said after the soldier left. "What vision?"

"They're something I sometimes get," Phoebe said evasively "I get these little glimpses of the future."

"A Seer?" Riley asked skeptically. "Don't they usually only see people that need help, or something like that?"

"You seem pretty well informed about this kind of stuff."

"It's an occupational thing," Riley replied quickly, not wanting to give away any information that he shouldn't.

"So what was this vision thing that you had?" Jack asked again as he watched Finn and two of the sisters dance around giving answers.

"Huh? Oh yeah. Let's see. It showed you, that Daniel guy, Major Carter, and Murray all standing in front of this big circle thingy. You were all strapping on weird looking weapons. And the big guy had this weird looking stuff on his head."

"I see," was all Jack said as he heard the girl describe Teal'c's tattoo.

"Yeah."

"And what color was it?"

"Dunno. So far, all of my visions have been in black and white."

"Did the big circle do anything?"

"No."

Jack nodded in relief. What the girl had somehow seen was he and his team strapping on the last of their gear before they went topside. They had all stopped at the gate while they slid the last bit of their stuff into their bags, or equipment pouches. He remembered what Daniel had said to them all, being the introspective kind of person that he was.

'You know, with everything that we've done, I've almost been convinced that whatever finally got me would be out there. Now I find out that the very thing that may get me, is actually here on Earth.' After that, they had all paused to stare at the gate before someone had paged them saying that their forces were ready. That had snapped the four of them out of their reverie and back into action.

"Don't talk about the big circle thing unless I tell you to, okay?" he told her.

"All right," the girl said shrugging, as if she could care less that she had seen inside one of the government's most top-secret installations

"Let's head out then campers," Jack said, wanting to distract the other sisters in case they might have heard anything. "We want to get there in time to save the world and all that. Right?" The sisters nodded in agreement.

"Shame this place got messed up; they served real good burgers as I remember," Riley commented to his current boss.

"You're telling me!" Phoebe agreed. "Now we'll have to stop at McDonalds or something like that."

"I have found very little wrong with the foods of McDonalds," Teal'C said as he joined the group.

"Oh, it's all right, but come on, diners like this are what make road trips half the fun," Phoebe told the large man who merely raised an eyebrow at the youngest of the three sisters.

"It is obvious that she is of your kin, O'Neill," Bra'tac said. "For there cannot be that many of the Tauri that think like that."

"If you say so, Bra'tac," Jack said, shrugging as he put his sunglasses on. Not really paying attention to him, Prue copied the motion. Riley and Bra'tac shared a knowing look as several bits of their body language mirrored each other. "All right, people, load up! I want to get out of here as soon as possible. Secure anything that needs to be secured, then we're outta here," Jack ordered.

"Head for the car. I want us out of here and out of the way now," Prue ordered her two sisters. She then turned to O'Neill. "We'll either meet you elsewhere on the road, or we'll see you at Sunnydale. Then we'll see what the First is made of."

Jack wanted to argue with the woman in front of him, but if she were even half as stubborn as he was, then there would be problems doing that. And right now he needed to be focused on the mission. He could always whine to these girls about doing crazy things later. It would be up there with chewing his niece out for staying in a town that tried to kill her. "Sounds like a plan," he said, instead of what he really wanted to say, much to the surprise of SG-1. 'Gotta keep 'em guessing somehow,' he thought with amusement. "Hey," he called to the three young women.

"Yeah?"

"Be careful," he said. "You want to be able to help her."

"Gotcha," Prue said while Phoebe gave him a thumbs up as they all climbed into their car and drove off.

"Yours is truly an interesting family, O'Neill," Bra'tac noted as he watched the three women pass the guard, who waved them out. "It is a family of great warriors."

Jack nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but their **MY** family."


	14. Dark Reinforcements

**Dark Reinforcements**

Duncan McLeod twirled his sword in his hand, as he looked at the figure in front of him. "There can only be one."

"All right, sheesh. You don't have to loose your head, or more accurately my head over it." The texaswookie says backing out of the highlander's reach.

"Then say it."

"Fine, I don't own a single thing here. If you want to know the exact owners, check my earlier chapters. And unfortunately, the sword here is mightier than the pen." The texaswookie grumbles, holding a dissected pen up.

* * *

Sunnydale/Sunnyhell

A large popping sound echoed throughout one of the many abandoned warehouses in the small town as 40 Death Eaters and their master portkeyed in. The Death Eaters looked around the place uncomfortably. The obviously muggle structure reeked of some of the darkest magic. Voldemort grinned in pleasure as he flicked his serpentine tongue out, tasting the air and the dark power.

"Well, if it ain't a bunch of cross dressers," a rough voice rumbled from the side. Several of the Death Eaters spun around, their wands pointing in the direction of the loud voice. "Put those twigs away." They were ordered. "You annoy me, and I'll end up shoving them through your sockets," the voice growled. A few of the wands wavered at the matter of fact tone.

One of the more loyal Death Eaters swaggered to the front. "Big words from someone who hides in the shadows," the Death Eater drawled contemptibly.

"Ooh, we got us a brave one. Or maybe a stupid one," the voice mocked. "Course, I doubt you're all that brave since you have to hide your face behind that mask of yours." A large figure in bronze sleeveless armor moved into the light, sneering at the smaller man. The Death Eater backed away from the person that towered over them, and probably weighed as much as 10 of the Death Eaters. The Death Eaters looked the man up and down nervously. Unlike Hagrid, Dumbledore's and now probably Potter's pet half-breed, this man had the eyes of a killer, with the same lack of remorse that their master had when it came to killing.

"Enough, Bella," Voldemort ordered the Death Eater that was antagonizing the half-breed. "You do not need to prove yourself to the brute. Or do you still feel that you need to prove something after Potter and his ilk made a fool out of you?" The woman bowed her head in submission to her Lord and backed away from the large figure that had greeted them.

"Now then, servant…"

"What did you call me cross dresser?" the man asked the dark wizard dangerously. Between him and his followers, they were beginning to make the large man lose the small bit of patience he had.

"I called you servant," Voldemort replied, sneering at the arrogant half-breed that dared to question him.

"Listen, scale face, you and your idiot friends are this close to making me hurt you. The Juggernaut ain't anybody's servant."

"In time that will change, half-breed," Voldemort promised the brute before him.

"Enough, the both of you," the First said as it appeared between the two of them. The form of the blonde slayer glared at both of them. It would have had the both of them killed, if they weren't both such powerful tools. One was an unstoppable mass of pure killing destruction on legs. The other was a killer, bound to the earth to rise again and again. As long as his soul was bound, that is. After this fight the First would need to warn him about the boy's knowledge; if the child survived that is. "Allow me to introduce you two. Lord Voldemort, heir of Slytherin meet the Unstoppable Juggernaut, wielder of the ruby, and Avatar of Cyttorak."

"Cyttorak? Who was Cyttorak?" one of the Death Eaters asked.

"Please tell me that you're joking," another one replied in annoyance. "I would think that anyone who spent even a small amount of time studying the Dark Arts would know some of the easier ways to increase your power. The power of Cyttorak is supposedly one of the easiest methods to increase your physical powers. The main problem with it is that no one has been able to find the temple where the power is supposed to be hidden."

"Yeah? Well I found it easy enough," the Juggernaut said as he flexed his arm, his rippling muscles intimidating most of the robed figures. "And after it was done, I came out like this."

"Yes, now you're nothing more than a lumbering mass of muscle," one of the robed figures said silkily.

"Careful, pal, I've killed folks for a whole lot less than that," the Juggernaut warned menacingly.

"Are you threatening me, muggle filth?"

"We can fully address this later, Severus. Besides, seeing as how he's an Avatar, I can overlook his lack of proper breeding for the moment, since he understands his pathetic status in the world and has at least made an attempt to become something," Voldermort said, waving at the angry figure.

"I think I've heard enough outta of you," the Juggernaut growled as he started to walk forward. The large man was shot with a dozen red curses. The wizards all watched in shock as the spells actually bounced off of his hide. With the amount of hate that fueled them, those spells combined should have been able to penetrate the hide of a giant. "Is that supposed to do something?" the Juggernaut jeered as he backhanded three Death Eaters into their companions. "Or could you be putting on a lightshow just for me?" He casually tossed two more Death Eaters into a pile of crates. The cracking of wood was combined with the cracking of bones as they flew through and struck the wall.

"Are you two done yet?" a bored voice asked as the First finally decided to stop them from hurting each other. "'Cause I seriously got more important things to do than watch you guys go at each other." The Death Eaters used the distraction to scramble out of reach of the Juggernaut while the bronze figure shrugged.

"Ahh First, how great it is to see you again," Voldemort greeted as he bowed to the dark entity. Three others bowed alongside him, though one of them was shivering. Some of the Death Eaters were shocked that their Lord, and members of his inner circle, would lower themselves by bowing to what appeared to be a piece of muggle filth. "Bow," Voldemort ordered his followers. The other Death Eaters quickly complied.

"Yeah, sure," the girl replied buffing her nails. "It's great to see you to Lord V." The Death Eaters stiffened at the casual greeting the girl dared to give to their Lord. The girl smirked as she looked at the assembled Death Eaters. The figures all shivered for some unknown reason as she smirked at them. "Don't tell me that none of you know who I am?" The girl chuckled as she began walking toward them, her appearances changing with every step. Suddenly she was the cocky James Potter. This caused a small gasp, and more than a few snarls. Chuckling, the man bowed to them all. "Mr. Prongs is happy to see that you are all here and remember him. And Mr. Prongs would like to inquire upon the health of Mr. Wormtail?" Peter shivered and actually began crawling away in fear as the leader of the Marauders questioned him.

"Go ahead, Wormtail. answer your old friend," Snape snapped. "The sooner you do, the sooner he'll change his face."

"M-Mr. Wormtail is f-f-fine," the Death Eater managed to force out.

"That is good to hear, Mr. Wormtail." The figure took another step forward and shifted into the monocle wearing Amelia Bones. The woman merely sniffed at the assembled Death Eaters disdainfully before shifting again. The form was now that of Sirus Black. Wormtail let out another small sound and backed even farther away. "Well, cousin, I fear I must admit that you won the last round of the fight," Black said sadly as he bowed mockingly toward his cousin. Bella cackled in amusement at this. "You know, you I like," Black said as he shifted back to the blonde girl.

"How is this possible?" One Death Eater asked.

"Allow me to introduce one of our greatest allies," Voldemort said to his people. "This is a being that has helped me to establish communication with some of our most useful allies, like the Dementors. I give you the First Evil."

"Hey, sweety," the Juggernaut greeted the being of pure evil. "Tell me these cross dressers ain't the help that you told me was coming," he pleaded, jerking his thumb at the Dark Wizards.

"They're just some of the help that I have summoned to aide us. When all is said and done, the Champion Bloodline will be ended."

"The Champion Bloodline?"

"Yes, the Champion Bloodline. The Slayer leading the forces here has unknowingly summoned her family and their allies to their deaths. The Champion Bloodline is a family line, which has been sworn to protect the Earth from any and all threats. They protect it all, whether it the threat be from above or below, within or without. When the battle is finally joined, it could easily be a prelude to what the Final Battle will be like. And if nothing more, it will allow us to remove several of the opposing pieces with only half of the threat to our own forces," the silky voice of Salazar Slytherian told the assembled wizards and the lone Avatar. "Soon others shall come in answer to my summons and we shall have a good part of our army." The wizards cheered, while the Juggernaut merely shrugged. He could care less about all of this, but as long as he got to kill his waste of space stepbrother he would help.

(1) "Wareware okurimono hon heiki, Kan Ashi," a new voice said from the shadows as two figures dropped to the ground with drawn weapons. Both of them were dressed in the uniform of the ninja. One wore a red demon mask, while the other wore a basic ninja hood over his face, hiding his features except for his eyes.

"Good," Salazar replied, nodding to them. "These two and their companions will be of great assistance. Especially to you Juggernaut, for they shall make your task easier."

"Really?" the Juggernaut asked skeptically. "And just who are these two pajama clad clowns?" The Juggernaut eyed the two with suspicion. "And do they speak regular?"

Salazar chuckled. "If you mean, do they speak English, then yes they do, when they choose to. As to who they are, they are a people that I have nurtured from time to time, and they owe me their loyalty. They are also the sworn enemy of one of your stepbrother's followers. And Ogun here has a bit of collecting to do as well."

(2) "Hai hon'in gozen. Gozen chigiri sono konpaku youji mune waga youji mou?"

"If you can control her, then the girl is yours," Salazar told him before he morphed back into the blonde Slayer. "But this is your last chance to take her. After this, she is considered expendable."

(3) "Sono kyouko sono neesan's mune anzen touhou saishuu jikoku. Kanojo mune iiya kouiu sachi kono jikoku," Ogun assured the First.

"How are these two going to help me get at the cue ball?"

"They, and their followers, shall deal with the animal and some of the other followers of your brother," the First informed the towering figure before it.

"And what makes you think that I need the help of the pajama patrol? I can handle my stepbrother and whoever else he has with him. So thanks, but no thanks."

(4) "Dearou hon'in kuro ichi?"

"Of course, Ogun. Besides, it's been a while since I last saw you work."

The red masked ninja bowed to the First and then turned to the large behemoth. He walked up to the Juggernaut, stopping a few steps out of reach and bowed to him. "I shall endeavor not to hurt you beyond repair, Juggernaut san," the demon ninja said in English.

The Juggernaut, getting the idea that the idiot wanted to fight him, lunged at the ninja, swinging his large fists at the man. His large fist was easily the size of the ninja's chest and one good shot would finish him off.

The masked ninja ducked under the heavy blow, then used the outstretched arm to swing up into the air. He landed on the Juggernaut's head with the grace of a gymnast. Moving swiftly, he bent down and looked the man in the eyes before blowing a handful of dust in his face. He back flipped off the helmet, before the heavy hands could strike him.

"Argh! Where are you, pajama boy? Why don't ya stand still and fight like a real man?" The big man was swinging blindly at the ninja as the ninja casually ducked in and out of the punches.

"I am where you least expect me to be, (5) Gaijin." Ogun jumped in the air and slammed his feet into the small of the man's back.

The Juggernaut turned around after he felt the blow and swung a heavy shot that would have knocked a regular person into a wall and left them nothing but a smear. Ogun merely took a step back and caught the hand again, but this time managed to send the giant stumbling to the ground in pain as he manipulated certain muscles. The man gritted his teeth as he tried to grab the ninja. But while the man never moved, he seemed to always be able to dodge just out of the way somehow. "All right, enough," the Juggernaut said. "I give!"

"Very well, Juggernaut san." The pain immediately stopped as the ninja master stepped back, allowing the big man to get back to his feet.

After he had managed to rub feeling back into his hand, the Juggernaut stared at the man in front of him. The ninja had made a fool out of him. The guy could have taken him down when ever he wanted, but had allowed him to at least try before he took him down. The ninja bowed at him again, and then at the blonde shapeshifter, or whatever she was.

"I guess the rest of you newcomers might as well show yourselves; except for the other members of the Hand, that is," the First ordered. Three demons shimmered into view and a small tornado erupted in the air, a moment later a dark haired girl appeared. "Amy, you've gotten even stronger since I last saw you!" the First cried happily as it looked the dark witch up and down in appreciation. While the girl was still no match for the combined might of the Charmed Ones, she would be of great use one on one in the coming fight.

"Great to see you, too," the witch replied, a satchel of items at her side.

"Who is this?" Voldemort asked in surprise as he eyed the powerful new comer.

"A different type of witch than you and your kind, Voldemort," the First answered, watching the two as they felt each other out. "Her power is of the Earth, rather than her own."

"Is that a fact?"

"Yes, imagine if the earth were a spring and needed an outlet for its inner mystical power. It uses witches like these, of both the light and dark variety, to balance itself out using them like different types of outlets. Some have a natural connection to the earth, while others need a little bit of a push in the right direction," Amy explained to what she thought was a demon. "I've found a good spot to do the summoning you require."

"Excellent. Soon we shall be at full strength, ready to do battle with the champion bloodline." Everyone let out a small smile or cheer as they heard this, though in each of their thoughts were the plans of vengeance they had for the oncoming heroes.

* * *

**1:We present our weapons, First Evil**

**2: Yes, I do. You promise that the Spirit Child will be my child again?**

**3: The strength of the girl's will astonished me last time**

**4: May I, Dark One?**

**5: foreigner**


	15. Family meet Caleb, Caleb meet Family

**Family Meet Caleb, Caleb Meet Family**

Texaswookie dodges the latest and newest attack on him. "I really wish I knew that writing was this dangerous beforehand." He pulls out one of his many knives, and looks at a Goul'd with a ribbon device on its arm. "Crap." He mutters, before he is sent flying through the door, and hits the tree outside.

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Um, I don't own any of the stuff I'm writing about?" The texaswookie replies, as he tries to get back up. "Think I cracked my ribs again."

"Very good, now you can die for your god." The Goul'd replies.

"Geeze glad you're such an understanding overgrown snake." The Goul'd raises his arm to blast the insolent human, before the blow can come though the Texas native is caught up in a Asguard teleportation beam.

* * *

**Sunnydale: Outskirts**

The small convoy of cars stopped at the city limits, all of the people getting out for a minute. Every one of them looked nervously at the welcome sign with red paint on it. "If anyone wants to back out, now would be the time," Jonathan Kent said as his foot nudged the pole of the Welcome to Sunneyhell sign. "It's likely to just get worse from here."

"He's right," Connor agreed. "That fight earlier was nothing more than a test, I'm afraid. Soon there will be real problems."

"'Fraid we can't do that," Luke Duke said, eyeing the town sign before them all, his mouth set in a grim line. "There's family in there that needs help. When there's a member of the Duke family in trouble, the others come a running." He shrugged as if he was repeating something. The others nodded in understanding, while the Winchester brothers waited for them all to make their choice. They were already going; they just wanted to know who would be joining them. They understood this sort of thing better than most would. They had lost their mother to a demon, and now they fought the forces of darkness for revenge and the hope that other families wouldn't have to go through what they had. They watched as what some might call a moment of truth came. This was the last chance that any of them would likely have, if they didn't think they could handle what was to come. Once they crossed that city limit, anything was possible.

"We're in," Jonathan Kent said, giving his wife a hug with one arm and held his shotgun in the other.

"Same for us. We're not about to leave either of the Highlanders out on their own."

"Then let's do it."

"Hang on, folks, looks like we got us a late arrival," Bo Duke said as he pointed to the Explorer that was heading towards them. Everyone turned and watched the car's progress. Several of them unconsciously getting into position for a fight should things turn ugly.

The car stopped and the people inside got out. "Well, I'm seeing a lot of familiar faces today," the youngest of the three women said.

"Familiar how?"

"I saw you all in a vision. It looks like we were all meant to come together somehow," she explained. The others nodded as they sheathed their weapons.

"Um, no offense to all you folks that seem to be involved in this somehow or another, but can someone tell us where we're going?" Dean asked from where he was leaning against his Impala. He was also doing his best not to shoot looks of longing at the General Lee, which had easily taken the lead of the caravan. He had seen the men pop the hood of the car for a few minutes and he had been practically drooling after that brief glimpse. The only problem he had with it was that it stuck out like a sore thumb with that paint job.

"We plan on heading into the mouth of Hell itself, boy. We plan on going to help the family that needs our help."

"And why do you think you'll be able to help? I mean some of you aren't too bad, like the kid there has some mad on strength, and some of you guys can really fight," he complimented Clark and the Immortals. "But none of you really know what kind of a mess you're getting yourselves into."

"Don't worry. If we can survive a few meteor changed people, then we can handle this," Jonathan Kent assured him.

"And that would be what?" Dean asked.

"None of your business right now," Clark said, coming between the two. He could already see the sparks that could start flying between this guy and his dad. He couldn't help the small smirk on his face. First Lex, now this guy. Sometimes, his dad had problems trusting people. Maybe it was the whole dark shadowy figure they had. 'Note to self: limit the number of dark shadowy friends I have. And make sure I don't end up having to work with them too much.'

"Wait, I know you. You're the kid we met in Colorado a few hours before Sammy got his vision."

"Does that really matter right now?" Martha asked the young man.

"No, I guess not. Just trying to make conversation," Dean said, shrugging it off. "Of course, it could be that he somehow triggered the vision."

"You get visions, too?" Phoebe asked the sexy dark haired guy with the eyes that just screamed tormented soul to her.

"Back to what we were talking about," Uncle Jesse interjected. "Who is going, and who is hiding? Raise your hands if you plan on crossing those city limits." Everyone quickly raised their hands, though some looked like they wouldn't have minded hesitating. "Well, then good. Everybody load up and we'll introduce ourselves when we get where we're going."

"Do we want to wait for the army boys to come?" Prue asked the assembled family.

"The what?" several people asked, suddenly tensing up at the thought of the government finding out about them and their secrets.

"Yeah, on this side of L.A. there's a group of soldier boys that shouldn't be more than an hour or so behind us."

"And why is there an army group coming here?"

"They're family," the girl said as if that explained everything, and in a way it did. "Or at least the guy in charge of them is. And there's also the ex-boyfriend as well."

"And you learned this how?" Adam asked.

"Well, we stopped at this diner that had been totally trashed…" she trailed off as a few chuckles broke out among the group. "And judging by the amount of coughing and shoe scuffing going on you guys had something to do with it, didn't you? Or in your case, puffing out your chest," the youngest of the three witches said, looking at Dean.

"Hey, it wasn't exactly our fault!" Dean defended, smirking. "They were the ones that attacked us! And you should always take pride in your work, and always do it well. Besides, it was muscles and Robin Hood that caused the most damage," he said, pointing to the two dark haired, farm boys.

"You two caused all that damage?"

"Um, just some," Clark answered uncomfortably. He hadn't been aware of the truck at the time, or he would have tried something different than what he had.

"Yeah, just some," Luke agreed. "The rest was a bit of combined work from everyone else."

"I see." Everyone looked slightly amused at this.

"All righty then, now let's load up," Uncle Jesse ordered.

"Are you all sure you want to do that?"

"Here we go again," one of the men grumbled as all of the heroes turned to look at the person walking up to them.

"I must admit I'm a little disappointed in the way you all got together," the figure drawled. "You see, I was kind of hoping that you would try and kill each other before you finally started working together. It would definitely have saved me and my boys a bit of time if you had gone and softened each other up."

"What does this look like, a TV show?" Phoebe asked as several people drew their weapons and turned to face a man dressed like a priest.

"No, 'cause on TV the bad guy always loses," the priest returned. "But you all, well we're going to have to do something more, so I got some of my boys and some other friends to help out with you." A large group of Bringers came out from where they had been hiding; alongside them were a group of men with swords. "Consider us the welcoming committee," the priest said as he spread his arms out, grinning evilly at the assembled family.

"Great, Immortals and Bringers," one of their own sword wielders complained as he adjusted his grip on his sword.

"And you expected this First thing not to play all it's cards?"

"I could hope," he joked. "So, do we get to know who it is that thinks he can kill us?"

"Where are my manners? Not that it matters that much, you see I'm allowed to kill some of you. You can call me Caleb. Get 'em," The Bringers began their attack. Weapons were ready as the two sides met. Smiling, the priest grabbed a boulder and tossed it at the group. The boulder was stopped in the air moments before it would have struck the youngest of the three sisters, and redirected at some of the Bringers. Caleb looked around for something else to throw, or to see if one of the white hats were close enough for him to grab. He saw that one boy kept managing to dodge a blade, and then toss the person into the air. And the way the Bringers heads jerked back, the boy could throw a punch. Grinning, the priest walked over to the boy. While he was dodging another punch, Caleb grabbed him by the back of his jacket, punched him a couple of times and threw him into the air. The boy let out a startled yell as he went flying. The priest grinned as he sought out a new target.

"You know, I could have sworn I told you not to mess with that kid until the witch was ready," the First told its enforcer. "But no, because you feel like you know so much, you decided to go and try to hurt him. Despite the very obvious fact that you don't have any of those meteor rocks with you."

"Please, he didn't know what hit him," the preacher replied smugly. "And there's no way that he's getting back up after that. Not even that dirty blonde you like to copy would be getting up after being thrown around like that."

"And neither will you," the First complained as Caleb grabbed the two handed wrench that Cooter was using as a weapon and bent the thing in half. Swallowing, Cooter looked at the man in front of him. "Besides, I told you that I have a plan to deal with him. A shame his crush doesn't know her true potential power yet. She might have been useful in this little fight here."

"Look, I'll apologize later, all right?" Caleb said in annoyance as the mechanic brought his hammer up, just barely missing Caleb's head. The priest grabbed the grease monkey by his throat and looked him in the eye as he brought his fist back. "I think I need to teach you a few lessons boy." Cooter glared black in response.

"Hey! Why don't you pick on someone that can fight back?" Clark shouted as he grabbed the priest by his fist and squeezed.

Caleb screamed as he felt the bones in his hand being crushed together in the kid's steel, vise-like grip. He dropped the unshaved man and swung around, hoping his fist would catch the kid that dared to touch him! Him! Vessel of the First Evil. The teen took the blow to the side of his head, causing it to jerk to the side, knocking his grip loose. Caleb then kicked Clark in the stomach. The teen doubled over in pain. "Well, son, it looks like you don't know all that much 'bout fighting."

"You'd be amazed at what I know," Clark said through gritted teeth as he grabbed Caleb by his collar and tossed him into a nearby boulder. The teen caught his breath and then headed back to fight the Bringers.

"Son, you have no idea what it is you're facing. So how can you be ready?" Caleb asked, climbing out of the rubble.

"I can try," Clark returned as the two powerhouses began to circle each other, looking for a weakness. "You know, you don't have to do this. Think about it for a moment," he pleaded with the man. "With you helping us, so much could be stopped before it got out of hand."

"You don't understand, boy. I'm not some person that wants that sort of thing. When the time of darkness comes, I shall rise above all others. Besides, it's already out of hand."

"You realize that you take the term fire and brimstone preacher just a bit too far, right?"

"You may not be blood related, but you are definitely related to her. Only she would talk like that. But now it's time to die," the preacher said in a very matter of fact tone. Caleb struck first, but his fist hit air as Clark ran around behind him and pushed the preacher into a sword. Caleb just barely twisted out of the way of the sharp blade. "Not a bad move, boy, but you can't keep running like that. Sooner or later you're gonna have to stop running. And when you do, I'll be there," the preacher promised the alien.

"I think I can handle whatever you try," Clark shot back, not feeling anywhere near as brave as he sounded. The guy had taken one of his best punches earlier and been tossed into a boulder, but he was still standing. He had never gone against anything like that, and a part of him was scared that this guy might actually be able to beat him.

"Then back up your words, son," the priest said, waiting for the farm boy to make a move.

"If you say so," Clark replied, punching at the man. The priest sidestepped the shot and kicked Clark in the stomach again. "You see, son, sometimes you need to know a few things about fighting. It isn't all about brute strength, though a lot of times it is." He grabbed Clark by the back of his jacket and pushed his face down into his knee. "You see, son, that's how it's done," Caleb lectured as he punched Clark, sending him flying back.

Clark shook his head as he got his bearings and looked at the smirking preacher that was kicking his butt all over the place. He had to get up and fight, though; no one else had the strength to fight this guy. Hauling himself back up, he punched Caleb in the jaw and watched as he was sent flying. "Clark! Get him out of here!" Martha Kent yelled as she swung a shovel at a Bringer that staggered from the blow.

"What is it with you heroes being around all these dirty women, boy?" Caleb asked, walking back toward the kid. "Does the dirtiness offer some sort of comfort to you?"

Clark glared at the man that dared to insult his mother. This time, he had gone too far. He punched the preacher into a tree and watched with satisfaction as the trunk broke. "Timber," he said coolly. While the brown haired man staggered back up, the Kryptonian rushed into him, slamming him back into the ground. "Do you really think it's smart to insult a woman when her family is all around you?" Clark hissed as he hauled the preacher up by the back of his jacket and swung him around twice before flinging him away and back toward the small town. Clark watched as the figure hit the window of one of the buildings. "That's going to hurt," the Kryptonian mumbled as he turned back to the fighting.

Sam kicked the kneecap of one of the sightless robed figures as a blade barely missed him. He really wished the creep would just go away. Suddenly, the guy was flung into a car. 'These powers are really hard to get a handle on,' he thought as the creep stumbled before falling down.

"Good shot, Sammy," Dean congratulated his brother as he threw a stolen blade at another of the men. Sam nodded and watched as the kid that was a bit younger than him threw the preacher into a tree and the tree broke.

"Wow," Sam muttered as he looked at the tree for a moment, it had to be at least eighty years old with a trunk as thick that. Ignoring the rest of his musings, he went back to fighting another blind man.

Prue yanked a bunch of knives from the grips of the Bringers while Phoebe fought them hand to hand, her lessons really paying off. Piper stood by and froze the occasional enemy long enough for one of her sisters to take care it. "How much longer do you two think you can hold out?" Piper asked, watching Prue grab one of the Bringers and toss him into three others.

"I don't know, but I think Phoebe will out last us at this rate."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah, she's not having to use her powers to fight, so she won't be getting as tired as we are," Prue returned as she sent three knives into the chest of a Bringer.

"You know, sometimes you guys say the nicest things," Phoebe said, kicking one Bringer in the jaw and elbowing another in the gut. "Think there's a spell that will make these guys go away?"

"Doubtful." The three witches battled on, wondering if they really were out of their element.

"So, Luke, you think these boys will be letting up soon?" Bo asked his cousin as he helped Cooter back behind a car. The mechanic needed a moment to recover from his attempt at taking on the priest.

"Well, how should I know that?" Luke asked his cousin as he checked his friend's throat. "Looks like it's just bruised."

"Whatever happened to loving thy neighbor?" Cooter complained, rubbing his sore throat.

"I don't think this is the kind of preacher you want to get on the bad side of," Luke replied, slamming one of the robed men, who had been trying to sneak past them, into the tailgate of Cooter's truck. "Besides, I think he's more an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

"And to think I left my chicken farm for all this," the mechanic rasped. Getting back up, the man tackled another of the Bringers that was trying to out flank Uncle Jesse and the other shooters.

"So, this is what it boils down to, eh?" Joe asked as he and the other three gunmen took a breather for a moment, reloading their guns.

"Nah, this is just another preview of what's to come," Uncle Jesse replied as he fed some more shells into the family shotgun. "You know how the movies are these days; they have to have like two or three commercials before they finally get down to the main event." He turned and saw that Daisy was working with a woman that was holding a shovel in her hands; Daisy held a hoe and was swinging it all over.

"Don't worry, Uncle Jesse. She'll live through this, even if I have to get between them and her myself," Enos promised the old man.

"Thank you, Enos. Now how about you and I get back to it?"

"Yes, sir," the L.A detective replied as the two of them came back up and began firing at the Bringers.

"I suppose it's not really a good time to ask why your friends are fighting those others with swords," Mr. Kent commented as he ducked a thrown knife.

"You're right," Joe said, reloading his hot gun. "Just like it's not really the time to ask you how your son's able to throw a demon through a window, or how he can stand up to that preacher over there."

"What can I say? We just grow 'em right on the farm," Mr. Kent joked nervously as he fired at another Bringer.

"Right," Joe responded dryly as he watched Richie fighting an Immortal that he didn't know. Duncan and the others all appeared to be fighting known Immortals. That is, they were known as some of the worst sons of bitches that had come to be. And the worst thing was, he couldn't get help for them because of the game. Did the rules still matter during a war, though? Shaking his head, Joe shot a Bringer in the throat before it could get too close.

Richie ducked another swing that would have taken his head. As it was, it cut a piece of his hair off instead. He hadn't thought that was really possible. Blocking another blow, he kicked the man back and attacked low, hoping to bleed his opponent out so he could see if anyone else needed his help. The man skipped out of reach and brought his blade down in an attempt to take his arm off. Richie barely dodged out of the way and watched as his sword sunk into the ground. Kicking out again, he caught the Immortal in the face. He then stabbed him in the arm,pinning his limb to the ground. Before he could finish him off, though, a Bringer interfered with the fight.

"We shall fight again," the Immortal promised as he tore the sword out of his arm. Dropping the weapon, he made a run for it. Looking around, Richie saw that all of the dark Immortals were making a run for it; whether they had been winning or losing their challenges.

"What just happened here?" Amanda asked.

"No idea."

"Well, it might have to do with all of those army trucks pulling up," Duncan said, holding his arm close as a slash healed itself with a crackle of quickening power.

They all watched apprehensively as the soldiers unloaded and began taking potshots at the Bringers that were still visible with a wide variety of weapons. "Stay in groups people! Some of them really don't like to stay down," an older man ordered. The soldiers secured the perimeter, leaving the family of fighters stuck right in the middle of the group of soldiers.

Colonel Jack O'Neill stepped forward, Carter to his left. Commander Finn stood beside him, her second standing to her right. He knew Daniel, Teal'c, and that Graham person were somewhere around, watching how this meeting went. "Well, campers, that was impressive. And I've got to say, this is one heck of a get together we've got going on here," he added sarcastically. "Now, anyone want to tell me why you think you're here? Or am I going to have to beg?" Several hands reached into pockets and pulled out letters with familiar handwriting. "You've got to be kidding me," the aging colonel said as he looked at the signature on each and every one of the letters. If this was right, about a quarter of the people here were related to him in someway or another. The others were related through the other side of the family, and a couple were just family friends, or family of the people that had letters. What were the chances of something like this happening? He'd have to ask Carter later to get the exact numbers, but he didn't think that they were really in his favor. 'Of course, when have I ever cared about the odds?' he thought.

"So, what now?"

"Now you let us handle this, and you can all pretend that none of this happened," Commander Finn said.

Her second snorted at this comment. "And if they're anything like Buffy?" he muttered to his C.O.

"Not everyone is that hardheaded, Riley," she returned before turning back to the crowd of civilians. She had been shocked when she heard that her husband and the Colonel had let a couple of civilians through. Now they wanted to let this entire crowd of civilians through? Not on her watch.

"Not happening, lass," Connor said as he looked at the blonde woman that dared to think she could tell him whether or not he could go help one of his adoptive families. He was the godfather of Buffy's great-great-great-great-grandfather for Pete's sake! He made it a habit to spend at least a few years in each of the lives of the descendants of his various families, and they had never known. Now, though, they would. Hopefully, he could keep his connection to her a secret. She would just think that he was a family friend of her mother's. "If you think that I'm going to let ye tell me when I can fight the supernatural, lass, then you've got another thing coming. In fact, about half of us here are already connected to the supernatural in some way or another. There is no way that yer going to be telling me to back down from a fight."

"Colonel, surely you know I'm right about this."

"It's out of our hands, Commander. She called, or rather wrote, them, so they know what's going on. And if they decide to get in contact with her, to help her, then there is little that we can do about it."

"But…"

"You heard him, pretty lady. Now how about we go see this relative we're all so eager to meet?" Bo suggested, grinning cockily. "After all, it wouldn't do to be late, now would it, darling?"

"Very well, but I want it on record that I object to this."

"And I object to people not telling me that my family is being attacked on a daily basis, but I don't say too much about it," the colonel returned shortly, rolling his eyes. For the most part, the woman was okay, but every now and then she went into this regulation mode that was kind of annoying.

The woman nodded as she watched the civilians get into their cars preparing to head into Sunnydale. "This is dangerous, Colonel. Are you willing to risk your entire family?" she asked, obviously trying to play the psychological card about the loss of his son.

"We gotta do what we gotta do sometimes," Jack replied coolly. "Besides, the family that fights together stays together. All right everybody, lock and load. We're heading into enemy territory and I want everybody prepared to deal with whatever comes our way." All of the soldiers nodded as they loaded back up. The men and women cocked their weapons in preparation for war with their worst nightmares.

"You ready, bro?"

"Let's do it, Dean." The two men fell in with the rest of the group, the black Impala joining the caravan of cars and trucks. "Is this how you plan on avenging me, boys?" a voice familiar to one of them asked. The two boys jerked their heads around at the sound of a voice and stared at the image of their mother. "You intend to help this other family while my killer is out there?" she asked them, disappointment on her face.

Dean scowled at the figure, the hope he had been wearing moments ago dying. "You may look like her, but you're obviously not our mother, or you wouldn't be trying that."

"Too true, but are you prepared to fight a fight that's way out of your league, Dean?" the woman asked, smiling beautifully at the two young men before she laughed in the musical tone that Dean had loved so much and disappeared.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

"'Cause it is bad," Dean told to his brother as he clutched the steering wheel tightly.


	16. We're Here

**Where's Buffy?**

Texaswookie looks around the Asguardian ship suspiciously, as he wandered the halls long since having gotten used to being attacked or near attacked because of this crazy story. He wanders around the corner, and groans to himself as he sees who it is that has brought him on board the ship, as he sees about twenty or thirty purple spider like robots tearing at the various controls on the ship. "As if it wasn't bad enough having the heroes bug me, now I'm having the bad guys having a go at me to." He mutters. "And me without a giant can of robot raid either." He gripes, as he slowly backs away turning to see Jack O'Neil tossing a zat gun around in his hands. "You wouldn't."

"Try me." The old soldier said, as he activated the weapon.

"Jerk."

"What was that? I couldn't hear you." The man said, as he cupped his hand over his ear.

"Fine, I don't own any of the various characters in this story, they belong to Joss and other folks. If you need a list, look into past reviews to figure out the ownership of the various people peoples. Happy?" The Texan growled, as he gave the soldier a death glare.

"Eh, I guess." The man says, as the two are teleported.

* * *

**Sunnydale, Slayer Central (Formerly Casa De Summers) **

The remaining Scoobies looked guiltily at each other as they contemplated what they had just done. They could pretend that none of it happened, except that the bleached wonder had hit them all where they lived, talking about Buffy the way he had. The tantrum had caused them to remember the past seven years of their lives and all of the things they had done. Both the good and the bad. "Anybody else feel like we're stupid?" Xander asked, surveying the dark, empty streets of his hometown. "I mean, as much as I hate to admit it, Spike had a point," the carpenter said as he leaned against the porch railing.

"That may be, but we have made our proverbial bed and now we must lie in it," Giles pointed out, looking at his two former charges.

"So, you think Buffy's still in town?" Willow asked.

"Most likely. Though she is probably going to do something extremely rash," the older man said as Dawn finally came out to join them.

"Is that such a bad thing, though? I mean now that we cut her off, isn't she even more dangerous right now?"

"How do you figure that, Dawnie?" Willow asked, her red hair reflecting from the lights they had set up.

"Something Buffy told me that Angelus said to her once," the teen answered evasively. "Besides, this is usually when Buffy pulls off one of her miracles that saves us all, isn't it?" She looked at Giles hopefully.

The watcher sighed as he adjusted his glasses. "Unfortunately, Dawn, I don't think Buffy is capable of pulling off that kind of victory anymore. Her mind has become so unbendable that she is likely to die if she continues to push fate." The watcher hoped he had explained it as best he could. They could not depend on Buffy to save them this time.

"Hey, Giles?" Xander said, stiffening as his eye watched the road.

"Yes, Xander?"

"You didn't happen to call the army by any chance did you?" the young man asked nervously as a line of cars began pulling into sight, a troop transport in the lead.

"No, I can't say that I did," Giles replied as the four of them slowly climbed to their feet. "Willow?"

"Don't look at me," the witch said, holding her hands up in defense.

"It could be that they finally noticed something is going on here," Dawn offered.

"Or they could be even more agents of the First," Giles said. "Dawn, get Faith. Xander, weapons." The two nodded as they headed inside.

A few moments later, Faith and Robin joined them outside with a blushing Dawn. "So what do you think, G?" the dark haired woman asked, catching a sword that Xander tossed her.

"Stand ready," Giles instructed as the group of vehicles stopped in front of the Summers house. The variety of cars was impressive: there were the military vehicles, but there were also clunkers, a tow truck, a black Impala, and what looked like an orange racecar.

"Well, they definitely get points for sheer number of cars," Xander joked as people began climbing out of their rides. Giles noticed that the girls watched the racecar drivers haul themselves out with great interest. 'Ah to live in a world that is not plagued by teenage emotions.' What looked like fifty or so soldiers climbed out of the troop transports and began searching the area, wary of any kind of traps. The people that climbed out of the other vehicles were as diverse as the vehicles themselves, coming from all walks of life. Some looked like serious people that you didn't want to mess with, while others walked with a bounce in their step and a twinkle in their eyes. Some wore scruffy clothes that had been worn and patched beyond reason, while others wore clothes that probably cost as much as ten of some of the others outfits. Yes, this was a rather diverse group of people. So what could make such people willingly travel together with a military escort?

"We're gonna be hard pressed if this turns bad, G," Faith warned, eyeing the soldiers nervously. The Scoobies' few crossbows had nothing on those babies and they all knew it. Giles nodded as the Potentials came out to face the unknown forces that were pulling up.

Xander couldn't help but notice the number of green and blue-eyed people there were. Those particular shades were disturbingly familiar to him. Add to that the number of ladies with blonde hair,and it made him want to run. 'There is no way I can be seeing what I think I'm seeing," he thought to himself. The deadly smirk that so many of the people were wearing though, seemed to be the clincher for him. He had seen that deadly smirk that was both playful and grim at the same time. He knew only one person with that kind of grin. Well one and half, since he knew someone who was still in the process of learning it. That grin was the one she wore when she was taking down time between fights, but was expecting trouble anyway. 'We are so screwed if I'm right,' Xander thought.

"Oh crap," Dawn muttered as she stared at three dark haired women. Xander noticed that they had a particularly good version of the smirk down. The one in the lead actually had it down pat.

"Do you know them, Dawn?" Giles asked

"We are so dead," the girl answered

"And why do you say that?" a familiar voiced asked as a group of soldiers broke off from the rest, led by a familiar blonde man.

"Riley," Giles greeted in relief at the familiar face.

"Giles," the man returned, scanning the crowd for a familiar perky blonde, or even the shell of her that had been here during his last visit.

"It's good to see you, Riley."

"Hey, G, can you trust him?"

"Yes, Faith, I believe I can," Giles answered her.

"Good, then you take some of them inside and tell 'em what's going down and we can go from there, all right?"

"Very well. Come on inside and I'll explain what the situation is as of this moment." Riley frowned as he looked at Faith, but he followed the British man along with the Colonel, Jesse Duke, Prue Halliwell, Connor MacLeod, Jonathan Kent, and Dean Winchester.

Giles led the group into the living room. Xander, Kennedy, and several of the other potentials followed after the watcher. The young girls were all wondering why the man had just opened the house to these strangers. "Where's Buffy?" Riley asked, while the others looked around the room curiously. "And why is she giving orders?" he asked, pointing his thumb at Faith who was still outside. "I thought you guys didn't like her."

"Here we go again," Kennedy muttered darkly.

"Kennedy, please restrain yourself," Giles reprimanded. The watcher was worried about how this conversation was going to go. Riley and his troops would be a good addition, though he didn't know who all of the others were. If they were good fighters, they might actually stand a chance against Caleb next time. Right now though, he needed to figure out how to salvage this situation. Unfortunately, because they had kicked Buffy out, he didn't think that was going to be easy.

"Giles," Riley said, his eyes narrowing. "Where is Buffy?"

"She's, ah, not here at the moment."

"Then where is she?" O'Neill asked, losing what little patience he had with this guy who was obviously stalling for time.

"More importantly, when is she getting back?" Mr. Kent questioned.

"Never, if she's smart," Kennedy replied smugly. "She's not in charge anymore. Faith is. We kicked her out because she just wanted to use us as her sacrifices."

"You did what!" Jesse and Prue exclaimed. Reacting on instinct, Prue grabbed the teen with her powers and slammed her into the wall.

"What did you do, Giles?" Riley growled at the older man. Giles watched as Kennedy was effortlessly hung in the air by what he presumed was a mystic of some kind. "Answer me, Giles!"

The yelling snapped the watcher out of his shock and he turned back to the soldier. "Let her go first." The witch nodded as she dropped the teen on the floor. Giles nodded his thanks, before continuing. "Buffy was no longer thinking clearly. She was becoming quite irrational actually. She actually wanted to return to a well guarded position where we lost several of our girls and Xander lost his eye. We simply could not risk it."

"Giles, you idiot!" Riley exclaimed, much to the watcher's surprise. The young man had always been polite to him when he was in Sunnydale. "The soldiers out there came here to help because it seemed like she wouldn't be able to handle this particular problem with what was here."

"Yes, well in that case you were correct," Giles said. "But if you'll give us a moment, we'll see where we can work you into this. Then we can…"

"They don't take orders from you, old chap," O'Neill interrupted in a fake accent laced with sarcasm. "They take orders from their superior officer, which the moment we crossed the city limits became one Buffy Anne Summers."

Giles collapsed into his seat in shock. "Good lord, you can't be serious," he mumbled. "How did you learn of our situation, might I ask?"

"Buffy sent her family mail, telling them what was going on," Riley answered, deciding that right now was probably a bad time to mention that Sam Winchester had gotten a vision and that was why he and his older brother were here.

Giles nodded as he processed that bit of information, hoping that he kept his surprise in check as he realized why all of these people were here now. The only thought he could come with at the moment though, was what had his Slayer done this time? What foolish plan had she concocted that she felt she had the right to endanger her blood family? He knew that she was always a bit rash, but he had never thought she would be foolish enough to actually endanger her family. It was for this very reason that he had agreed with the others that she needed to be relieved of command before she got anybody else killed. During a war, one could not take this type of chance that people would come and gum everything up. In part, that was why he had been so eager to allow Robin to take care of Spike. The vampire was only a source of distraction that his former Slayer shouldn't have right now.

Giles sighed as he looked at the group before him. He wondered idly how he could convince them to go back to their lives, and let him and the others deal with the First as it was meant to be. The older soldier standing by Riley looked to be about his age, though the sure way he wore his weapons made him unquestionably dangerous. The long haired man in the trench coat looked to be slightly older than the Scoobies. Giles wasn't certain, but he thought he saw the tell tale sign of a sword hidden in his jacket. The next two had the stereotypical look of farmers though one looked like he had been around the block more times than anyone else. There was a sharpness to his clear blue eyes that promised trouble if you messed with him, despite the overalls, long hair, and straw hat that he wore. The other farmer was wearing jeans, a t-shirt with a plaid over shirt, and work boots. One thing both of the farmers had in common, though, was that they each carried a large shotgun cradled in their arms. The last member of the group reminded him of a male cross between Buffy and Faith. He had a cocky air about him and the smirk on his face didn't help either, but his eyes had the same focus that Buffy's did. This was a person that didn't care about rules and procedures unless they helped him. This was a person that just wanted to know how many time he had to hit it, to kill it. But there was a sense of control hidden in the very back of his eyes, as well, which showed his true worth.

"And as we said, soldier boy, she's out of the picture," Kennedy returned, taking Giles' momentary lapse as an excuse to open her mouth once again. "We all agreed on it, so get over it."

"All of you?" Jesse Duke asked, scowling at Giles. The two older men seemed to be having some kind of battle of wills, and they were about even. One had fought and seen just about everything of the darkness of man, while the other had grown up learning what darkness the underworld had.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" the teen said belligerently, oblivious to the looks the two men were giving each other.

"Yeah, I do," the man told the girl before he stormed out.

Giles groaned. "Kennedy, for god's sake, would you please be silent. You are making a bad situation worse every time you open your mouth and I'm tempted to let her hang you by your throat again if you can't be quiet."

"But…"

"Butt out while the grownups are talking, kiddo," Dean interrupted her. He may not be related to this Buffy chick, but common sense told him that you don't throw the boss out because someone got hurt. He'd buried a few other hunters in his time, but he had never given up and kicked people out of their home because he didn't like the way they hunt and fought. Shoot them in the butt with a BB, or blast them with a stun gun, yes. But kick them out of their own house? Not even his dad was that cold, or stupid.

"Tell me, Giles, did she have to see the disappointment in your eyes again?" Riley asked as he clenched his fists, glaring at the former watcher and Buffy's so called friends and family.

The man flinched slightly as that particular past adventure was brought up. "Some Heart you make, Xander!" Riley called back over his shoulder as he stormed out of the room. Kennedy glared angrily at the soldier boy that so casually insulted her girlfriend and the rest of the real fighters. Buffy wasn't anything special. It was like Anya said; she was just lucky to have gotten chosen. She wasn't a real hero, just someone who had outlived her usefulness in the fight.

"Well, now that we got that out of the way, we can talk about the situation, or we can get the info from our superior," Jack said. Giles glared at him before giving them a brief explanation of the situation. "So, the town really is for the most part deserted?"

"Yes."

"Great, it's going to take forever to find the boss lady as it is."

"Well, perhaps we could cooperate until…"

"You already said that you can't work under the boss. If that's the case, then I don't think so. Let's go." Jack looked at Xander as he got to the door. "Tell me about how bad the wounds are when you know it's because of you that they got hurt," he said as he lowered his hat. "It takes a strong person not to fall apart after that."

Xander winced a bit as he thought of Buffy fighting demonic praying mantises, life sucking mummy princesses, and girls that wanted to sacrifice him to open a seal that would open the portal to hell, all for him. 'Yep, I'm a jerk.'

* * *

Jesse Duke got out to the porch and scanned the crowd of people that were watching the night with a nervous vigilance. His old eyes finally found the person that matched the description he was looking for. "Dawn Nichole Summers!" the old man yelled. The entire crowd froze as the voice growled out at the teen. Everyone turned to watch as the old man glared at the younger Summers girl. The three younger Dukes and their two friends looked sympathetically at their cousin as the angry Duke patriarch zeroed in on the girl.

"Is it just me or is that guy channeling Grams?" Piper asked Phoebe. "You were yelled at more than I was so…"

"It's not just you," Phoebe assured her sister as she took an unconscious step away from the porch; a move that was mirrored by the Dukes, since none of them wanted to be on the receiving end of what was to come.

Dawn tried a weak grin as the old man's eyes seemed to bore into her. She couldn't help noticing that all of her friends had cleared at least five feet away from her, leaving her directly in the old man's path. She didn't know why, but she was actually scared, despite the fact that she had faced vampires and demons with less worry. Fact was the last time she had felt like this was probably when her mother was giving her a death glare. "Yes?" she asked, wondering what the man needed and how he knew who she was. He sure didn't look military.

The old man continued to glare as he walked over to her. "You want to tell me why you kicked your own kin out of her own house?"

"What?" several people questioned in surprise and shock. The people that had been in Sunnydale swallowed nervously, they didn't regret what they had done, but a part of them were worried about what the blonde girl would do.

"Yeah, it's been done already, old man. Now how about you get off of your high horse," Faith said as she stepped between them. "When you've got some Bringers under your belt then you can talk, all right?

"You stay out of this," Jesse said, waving her off.

Faith glared daggers at the man as he brushed her off. "Maybe you didn't hear me, yo. I said back off."

"'Til I fight some of the Bringers. Well I have news for you, girl, I already have. Now pipe down."

"Look, we don't have time for you to play the angry parental. Besides, what's it to you if they treated B like shit? She told me to protect them, so I'll have to do my best."

"I think he has every reason to ask her," Clark spoke up. "Now why don't you get out of the way?" he tried reasoning with the woman.

"Look, kid, you're cute and all, but you don't get out of my way, I'm gonna move ya," Faith warned the teen.

"No."

Nodding, the Slayer grabbed the boy's arm and swung him toward the hood of one of the cars. "Now then, we are not discussing this," the Slayer said.

"Really?" Clark asked, hopping back to his feet. "'Cause I think we are."

"You're not very smart," the young woman said as she faked a left and came in with a right, only to have both of her fists caught in steel, vise like grip she couldn't get her hands free of. The dark haired Slayer's eyes widened slightly; she didn't think anyone but the Beast was this strong.

"And you're rude," Clark returned before tossing her into the air, where she hit the hood of one of the army trucks. The potentials raised their weapons in case the dark haired teen tried anything else. "Hey, she started it," Clark defended. "Besides, this is a private matter." He then went to sit on the tailgate of his dad's truck.

Dawn watched the teen and was about to say something when she felt a hand come down on her shoulder. Turning, she saw the old man again. "While they're doing that, you get yourself inside. This is not a conversation you're going to want done in front of the others." Nodding dumbly, Dawn fled inside

"C'mon," Connor MacLeod said as he and Dean came out of the house followed by a sour looking O'Neill and an irate Prue. "We've got someone to find. We need to search this city before something happens to our kin."

"Kin? As in family?" Willow asked hesitantly as she questioned the man in black with the Scottish accent.

"Aye, lass," Duncan replied from where he was waiting.

"Ooh boy," Xander said from the doorway.

"Sammo, get a vision already. It's time to find this girl. Besides, if she's the blonde in some of the pictures, then she's pretty hot."

Sam sighed as he stared at his brother. "It doesn't work that way, Dean. I don't get these crazy visions on some sort of command. And I sure don't get to choose what they're about."

"Well, maybe I could try. I can usually trigger my visions by holding something that belongs to the person."

"That might work better," Sam admitted as he turned to the woman. "Thank you, um?"

O'Neill rolled his eyes. "You know what? Time out. It was one thing to keep mum about who we are when we were on the way to see this mysterious girl, but it's another thing entirely when we need to work together. So I say we introduce ourselves for, and then we can do it again after we find our girl." The others nodded and quickly introduced themselves.

"Now hopefully I'll remember everybody's name," Jesse joked after they finished.

"You better, 'cause I'm not interested in wearing a nametag," Amanda said.

"Well then, I best do my best to remember. But you know how us old people tend to forget these sorts of things," Jesse said to the woman in a teasing voice.

"Is that a fact?"

"Well at least that's what the myths are, and if they work for you, why not use them?" the farmer replied, a grin coming over his face, the first one he'd had since coming back outside after talking to Dawn

"Ah, to be that young and naïve again," Amanda said to Duncan and the younger Highlander snorted.

"All right, now that everybody has an idea of who's who, the next order of business is…"

"Is leaving," Faith interrupted. "If you're going to cause problems, we can't have you around here. We got us a full out war going on here, and we can't have you getting in the way. So we want you out of town, now."

"This ain't your town, sweetie," Dean said, smirking at the Slayer. "This town belongs to the Slayer."

"Yeah, well I'm the Slayer in charge."

"Only 'til we find the other one. Then she's the one with an army under her command." Dean smirked at the girl. "That scares you, doesn't it? You got something you wanted and now you have to hold onto it. Of course it could still get worse."

"How so?"

"What if she saves your worthless butts and then leaves with us?"

"Enough, Winchester," Riley interjected. He had heard of the famed Winchester family; they were experts in capturing and destroying spirit form demons. No one knew why they did what they did, but there was no arguing that they were good at it. They were also dangerous when pushed. He turned to Faith. "You don't have any authority over us, only Buffy does."

Jack nodded to the two blond men as they turned away from the dark haired slayer. "All right now, back to what I was saying. We'll have our military personnel find suitable housing for all of us to commandeer; something close to the school, but easy to defend. I also want you to keep an eye out for any civilians, especially anyone that matches the physical characteristics of Commander Summers."

"Yes, sir," a soldier replied saluting.

"Make sure it's no higher than two stories," Riley yelled after him. "I want to be able to get thrown from a window with a chance of surviving the drop."

"As for you civilians that are going to do this whether I tell you to or not…" Jack gave a knowing grin to the various people that had come to help his niece. It was weird when you thought about how many people had taken the letters seriously. The people at the pentagon were going to have a really bad headache when they found out how many people knew the secrets that they had been hiding in the night.

"That's the army for ya, claim they're here to help but really have their own agenda," one of the girls said.

"When you've seen and done as much as some of the rest of us, then you can say something. Until then, keep a lid on it, kid," O'Neill said gruffly as he turned to his team and the rest of the people. "All right, people, move out!"

Nodding, everyone got back in their rides to search for a good place to base themselves, find survivors that hadn't gotten out of town yet, and most importantly, for Buffy Summers.

"Yep, we are definitely stupid. Complete with capital letters and dunce hats," Xander said, picking up the conversation they had been having with each other nearly an hour ago as the cars pulled out.

"Yeah? At least you didn't get chewed out like you were the shame of the entire family," Dawn complained as she finally slunk back out of the house. "You'd think he was in charge of this house the way he tore into me," she muttered.

"Well, this does change things, doesn't it?" Giles commented as he watched the cars fade into the night. "Willow, I need you to get on that computer of yours and see what you can find out about Buffy and Dawn's family. That is, if they really are your family?" he asked, turning to Dawn.

The teen shrugged. "I don't know. I think we were supposed to do a family tree thing for school a few weeks ago, but I never got around to it. Then with the end of the world and everything, I've been a bit too busy to turn something like that in. And who would I turn it into anyways? Principle Wood?"

"Not quite as good as Willow-babble, but not bad either," Xander complimented.

"I'll get on it," Willow said, heading inside to the semi-safety of the house.


	17. Graveyard Meeting

**Graveyard Meetings**

The texaswookie rubs his head where a headache seems to be forming looking up he groans as he looks into the clear blue eyes of Professor Xavier who was currently astrally projecting himself into the head of the writer. "Let me guess, I don't say it you blow my brains out, that about cover it?"

"Indeed it does, and it would be such a shame to damage you when you finally managed to get everyone into Sunneydale still though if I must I must." The Professor said a little reluctantly.

The texaswookie ground his teeth, as he felt the pain in his skull begin to increase, as he stubbornly remained quiet. "Problem with what your doing Xavier is that I know you ain't a killer." The writer says, wiping the blood that was starting to trickle from his nose.

"True, but I can control you if I have to." Xavier informs him.

"Damn." Texaswookie mumbles before his eyes glazed over and he started talking. "The writer would like to say that he does not own any of the various characters in this story, and is making no money off of this, and is just having fun."

"There now, was that so hard?" Xavier asked, as he faded from view.

"Damn meddler." The Texan grumbles, as he grabs some painkiller for his monster headache.

* * *

**Sunnydale Graveyard**

Connor MacLeod gripped his sword tightly as he made his way through the graveyard. In any other town the Highlander would have been able to walk through this place with ease, but here that was simply not possible. It was likely that the ground here was no longer consecrated, making no place safe for any of them. The dark feeling that surrounded this town was one indication that something was wrong. This darkness was changing the town into some twisted evil version of itself. He had no doubt that if the First succeeded, this ghost town would be overflowing with demons and other creatures of darkness. It would be like an airport terminal where all of the darkest elements were present. This darkness made him want to run and hide where he would be safe from the evil that he could almost taste, but that he could not do. First and foremost, he was a Highlander, and he and his kind never ran from trouble unless they had to. Fighting was a part of their life, and he would be damned if he was going to back off just because it could make itself look like people that he had loved and cared for.

The Immortal Highlander sighed as he sat down. He was near where he wanted to be; he just had to be patient and he would be rewarded. He had checked the city records and knew that what he wanted was here. If he understood this girl correctly, she would come here eventually. He looked down and smiled as he saw a blonde figure already heading to the place that he had been scouting. Yes, he understood the questions that she needed to ask of herself. They were the kind of questions that all people eventually asked of themselves after they lost something that was important. They had to ask themselves what their next move would be, and places like this were where the question was asked the most. He could remember times that he had done the same thing, first with Ramirez, then his mother, and finally with his darling wife. He had laid them all down to rest, oh so long ago. He looked at the figure and saw her ancestor, Hannah, all over again. The girl was a few inches shorter, but he wouldn't be surprised to find that the girl had the same fiery eyes that had made Hannah a woman that was both feared and loved when he had known her. He had been her godfather and he had vowed to protect the rest of her family and had done his best to keep that promise.

He got up and moved away from the site. 'I'll return later,' he promised himself. This was a private matter that the girl, no Buffy, had to attend to on her own. It was not right for another warrior to spy like this while she was grieving. Were she an enemy, then maybe, but that was not the case here. He would wait at one of the exits and hope that he would not lose her again. Adjusting the katana one last time, he disappeared into the shadows of the graveyard.

* * *

Buffy sighed as she looked at the headstones in front of her. Directly in front of her was her mother's grave, and off to the side was her own headstone. The parting words her so-called friends had put on it seemed to mock her. One of those headstones was for a hero; the other was one of the things that held a hero together. In her moments of reflection, she knew that it was right before her mother's death that she had started to lose control of her life. First Riley left, then she died, and then she was yanked out of Heaven. Supposedly because Willow thought she was in a hell dimension, but now she wondered if it wasn't so she could fight all the bad guys for them. After the shock of rising, there had been the relationship with Spike that had ended badly, and while they were no longer lovers, they were friends. And now there was this mess with the First and Caleb, which was why Xander was now walking around with only one eye. It hurt that he couldn't look at her without resentment anymore. What hurt even more though, was that he and the others would rather follow Faith than her during this whole mess. Though deep inside, a part of her was glad that she was no longer the one that had to be responsible for them anymore. Even if the way it had been done had been painful. She just hoped that they survived this mess.

"What do I do, mom? I feel so confused," she asked the headstone as she knelt in front of the last memorial of her mother that she really had. "A part of me feels like I should be angry at them for this. Isn't this why they took me away from you? So I could be the one to deal with all this darkness? Yet when something doesn't go the way we planned, they just get rid of me. Did I really mess things up for them that badly? The thing is though, the other part of me thinks that maybe they're right. Was I being an unreasonable bitch, or did they all get scared? Were they tired of being hurt? Giles used to always be about duty and all, yet he agreed with breaking us apart like this when we need to be strong. It's like Adam all over again. We don't trust each other anymore."

"What can I do that the First won't be expecting? Is there any kind of sign you can give me? Or am I going to have to really and truly do this without the help of all the others?" Her voice was tinged with acceptance and fear at this thought.

After she was done speaking, it was as if someone turned on a lightshow behind her.

* * *

The X-Men and the Golden Trio approached the graveyard cautiously as the winged horse entered the cemetery. Hesitating for only a moment, everyone got out so they could hopefully see where they were going more easily. The horse raised its head and made a cry of some sort before it headed in a direction that had statues all around it. "I'd say it's got the scent or something," Wolverine said. The others just nodded in agreement as they watched the threstal.

"I do believe that your sinister appearing steed wishes to be unrestricted while it searches," Beast said to the three children that had joined them on their mission of mercy. Nodding, Harry unhooked the carriage from the horse yet again. Wolverine moved over to the other side and released the clasps on that side as well.

"Remind me why we hooked this critter up in the first place?" Wolverine asked.

"Because we didn't know that we were going to be walking through a graveyard," Harry returned to the gruff man as they released the final clasp. The two stepped back as the horse shook itself then stretched its wings, before it trotted off into the night.

"Well, shall we?" Nightcrawler questioned, offering his arm to Storm. The white haired woman smiled as she accepted his arm and allowed the blue mutant to escort her. The two groups all walked as silently as possible as they passed the headstones. Some of the names that stood out on the headstones were familiar; ones that they had read about, names that actually meant something. Eugene Snyder: School Tyrant. Jenny Calendar: Beloved Teacher and Friend. Jesse McNally: Best of Friends. Tara McClay: Beloved Daughter of the Earth. There were others that weren't as well known. Harmony Kendall: Fashion Police of SD. Most of the mutants and wizards couldn't help but feel like they were trespassing in some way or another. The silence was only broken by the sound of Nightcrawler muttering prayers for the souls of the departed. The prayers seemed to help some of them, and they walked a little easier. The horse, oblivious to all this, walked around another statue and came to a stop, looking at something that was out of their sight.

Swallowing nervously, Cyclops and Havoc lengthened their strides. The two men looked down another row of headstones and saw a familiar blonde figure standing there. They saw that the blonde appeared to be muttering something to one of the headstones. "What do you want to bet that's the First, still up to its games?" Alex asked his older brother.

"No bet," Scott replied angrily.

"Think the Professor will mind if we cut loose?"

"You know, I really don't care right now," Cyclops told his brother. "He'll just have to live with the fact that we're only human, and that we just lost a piece of our family."

"Then let's do it," Alex said, charging himself up. The two men fired blasts of white and red energy at the figure that was standing in the middle of the graveyard. They watched as at the last instant, the figure dropped below the blasts, and rolled behind another statue.

"Cute trick, pretending that it might actually get hurt," Scott muttered as he walked down the hill carefully. He wouldn't be surprised if there was some kind of trap waiting for them down there.

"Vhat are you two shooting at?" Nightcrawler asked as he appeared in a cloud of smoke and brimstone.

"Sorry, we saw the First and kind of lost it," Havoc replied a little sheepishly. What had seemed like a good idea now seemed rather silly, when you considered it.

"Vell get control of yourselves," the blue mutant admonished them.

"All right," the two replied, feeling slightly embarrassed about what they had done. They didn't have long to be embarrassed though, since they were tackled by a figure in tan a moment later. The two mutants and their attacker went rolling down the hill from the force of the attack. Nightcrawler saw the others join them in time to see the two brothers get tackled.

* * *

Colossus armored up and prepared to assist the two brothers, but was stopped by a lethal claw blocking his way. "They're big enough to handle themselves, kid," Wolverine said. "Besides, we're in trouble if they can't beat those kinds of odds," he added as they all turned to watch the fight.

"It helps that if you're wrong about their abilities, you get to not only watch them get beaten, but you also get to be the one that will most likely rush to their aide," Xavier said dryly. "I seem to recall Scott mentioning something similar after you woke up."

"Gotta get my kicks somehow. Besides, I owe him for that remark," Wolverine returned unrepentantly as they continued to watch the fight. Colossus reluctantly powered down after a glare from Wolverine. "Oh yeah, and I say at least one brother goes down before they win."

"Is that a fact, Herr Logan?"

"Yep."

"Well I say that our mystery guest wins."

"Really? Care to put a case of beer on that?"

"Gladly." The two mutants shook hands on the small bet.

"Hmm, I say that it will end up in a draw," Beast commented.

"Are you saying you want in on this as well, McCoy?" Wolverine asked, surprised that the brainy mutant would want in on something like this.

"Yes. That is, if you aren't scared."

"You willing to bet beer, doc?"

"Of course."

"Then you got yourself a bet, McCoy." The three men shook hands before turning back to the fight.

* * *

As the three began getting up, the unknown person kicked Havoc, sending him flying a few feet before he landed painfully on the ground. The blow not only got him out of the way, but had driven the air from his lungs as well. The attacker then turned to Cyclops and began hitting him with smaller jabs that the mutant leader was just barely dodging out of the way of. 'It's a good thing he's good at dodgeball,' Wolverine thought as one jab broke the arm off of a statue. It was hard not to be impressed by the unknown attacker when it was holding it's own against both of the Summers boys. Especially when you considered that they had the equivalent combined destructive power of a nuclear warhead when they gave it their all.

Havoc sent a blast at the attacker, but they merely dropped to the ground again, the beam passing harmlessly over them and continuing on until it hit Cyclops. The beam of energy struck Cyclops right in the chest, and while the destructive energy was absorbed into the older Summers brother, the force of the shot sent him flying back several feet. Groaning, Cyclops fired at a large overhead tree branch, which fell down and struck the unknown attacker, pinning them to the ground. The two brothers began to circle the figure, hoping to get either a killing or stunning shot in before it regained its senses. They both managed to keep far enough away in case the unknown attacker had any other surprises. Their caution was rewarded when the figure heaved the tree branch off and tossed it in Havoc's direction. The branch would have hit him if he'd been too close, but at this distance he was only clipped, sending him spinning. The blow also messed up any hope he had at a shot for the moment as the figure flipped back up and tackled Cyclops. Again the red-visored mutant felt his breath leave his lungs as he was thrown back to the ground. The unknown attacker was on top and had their fist raised, ready to smash Cyclop's head in. Cyclops fingered the hidden controller for his visor, ready to tap the button in his glove, but waited for the figure to be lined up just right, or they might only get a glancing blow. The figure paused a moment as if catching their breath, and actually looked at him.

"Too Cool?" a familiar voice asked him in surprise.

"Short Stack?" an equally surprised voice asked. "But I thought you were dead."

"Not yet," the blonde replied.

"But the First can make itself look just like you," he argued to his very obviously alive cousin that was sitting on top of him.

"Eh, I got better," the Slayer said as she got off the mutant. "No offense, but I don't think we're that kind of cousins, Scottie. By the way, I love the whole biker boy look," she told her now blushing cousin.

"Yeah, you're definitely Buffy. No one else could ever make those comments and not only keep a straight face, but be completely honest about them."

"Thank you," she said cheekily.

"Hang on, Scott!" Havoc called as he got back up and charged the two of them. His uninjured arm, pointing in their direction, was already glowing.

"Alex, unless you want an angry cousin coming at you, I think you better stop where you are," Scott warned his brother.

"Huh?" the mutant questioned before he was tackled in a hug.

"Alex," the Slayer squealed joyfully. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We ah, came to help you actually," Alex answered in surprise. "Aren't you supposed to be dead? Not that I'm complaining," he added quickly.

"So by helping me, you thought that meant it was okay to shoot at me?" she questioned in annoyance as she hit both her cousins upside the head.

"Hey, ow. Besides, we thought you were dead!" Alex said, rubbing the back of his head. "How were we supposed to know that you were still alive?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, cuz, but you guys are stuck with me."

"The only question I have is: is that a threat or a promise?" Alex teased his cousin.

The blonde just threw him a dirty look. "So what's with the laser beams? You guys could rent yourselves out to Hollywood with those thingies."

"Yeah, or something like that," Scott said quietly.

"So, are you two actually going to hug me back, or am I the only one giving hugs today?" she asked her cousins.

The two brothers grinned as they caught their little cousin in a sandwich hug. "It's good to see ya, Shorty."

"You too, Smart Alec."

* * *

"Told ya they'd do all right," Wolverine said smugly. "Though that wasn't quite the result I was expecting," he admitted, watching the three figures below them. "Girl didn't do too bad either. She actually managed to keep them too busy to form any real strategy, and used their own powers against them."

"Careful, Logan, she is after all a Summers. What would Scott do if he found out that a member of his family impressed you?"

"Probably die of a heart attack. Or collect money from someone that he had made a bet with."

"Speaking of bets, I prefer bottles. They are so much easier to hold onto than the cans are, though you might humor me with some wine." Wolverine merely grunted in acknowledgment, while Nightcrawler nodded.

"So do we need to go down there?" Bobby asked.

"No, I'm sure that they'll be up here in a moment," Xavier said. "Give them a few minutes to not try and kill each other as a greeting. If they're still down there, one of us will see if we can't convince them to join us."

"You know, Hermione, I never would have pegged you for having a violent family. Maybe we should have realized that during third year though, after you knocked Malfoy down," Ron joked.

"I have a violent family? This from the person whose oldest brother is a curse breaker? While another one is raising dragons? And the twins push every level of authority that's possible? And you think I have a violent family? If yours isn't violent, then it's a family full of some of the biggest risk takers I've ever seen. That doesn't even count the fact that your father makes misuse laws and then turns around and breaks them before the ink is even dry," she finished rather smugly, as if daring him to prove her wrong.

"Err, well…" the red head started, scratching the back of his head as the tips of his ears began turning red in embarrassment.

"Easy there, you two," Harry told his friends, a flicker of a smile on his face as he watched his best friends argue.

* * *

"C'mon, we'll introduce you to the rest of the team, and some people that we picked up along the way," Cyclops said, ending the reunion.

"Well, since I don't really have anywhere else to be at the moment, that sounds like a great idea."

"Well then let me lead you, Short Stack."

"Sorry, Too Cool, but around here they call me the Slayer"

"Yeah? Well the team calls us Cyclops and Havoc, and unless you want us referring to you as Short Stack all the time, you might want to remember that," Cyclops jokingly threatened.

"Try it, and you'll see just what it takes to be a Slayer," the young woman warned her cousins, though her grin took away the edge from the threat.

The Slayer stopped joking as she saw a horse standing in front of them. The Slayer stared at the horse, which just seemed to ooze darkness. Yet at the same time, there was something almost noble about the creature, which called to the non-Slayer side of her; almost as much as it's creature of darkness bit called out to her Slayer side. "You're an awful good horsie, aren't you?" she commented as she pet the animal.

"Horsie?" Alex snorted. "What are you, three or something?"

"Seeing as I can throw you across a room without breaking a sweat, you might want to consider being nice to me," she warned the taller man behind her.

"I'll think about it," the cosmic powered mutant replied, grinning at his cousin.

The Slayer didn't reply to the baiting, instead she tensed slightly as she sensed other people nearby. Looking up, she saw that off to the side were about a dozen other people watching her. Most of them were wearing black leathers outfits like Scott and Alex, but three of them were wearing regular clothes with some type of black capes or cloaks. And two of the leather wearers didn't exactly look like they were going to make it as sexiest body around with all that body hair they were sporting. Not to mention that one of them had blue fur, while the other one had blue skin and what looked like a tail.

One of the almost regularly dressed people walked up to her and seemed rather excited as she offered her hand. "You must be Buffy," the girl said, in what was obviously a British accent.

"Last time I checked my I.D. I was," the blonde admitted as she shook the girl's hand. She looked the girl up and down and was impressed with what she saw. The girl was about Dawn's age, had bushy brown hair, and a knowing look in her chocolate colored eyes that was similar to Willow's when she met one of the demons they had been researching and it was willing to talk to talk to her.

"How do you do? I'm Hermione Granger."

"Granger?" Buffy asked, wrinkling up her nose as she tried to pull up something from her memory. "Aren't we related somehow? That name sounds really familiar to me."

"Yes, we are," the girl answered, happy to be recognized. "Like I said, I'm from the Granger side of the family. It's actually quite exciting to finally meet another member of the family who is aware of magic," she gushed excitedly.

"Oh, so you do magic?"

"Yes, ma'am," she replied, oblivious to the slight wince Buffy gave at being addressed that way. "My friends and I go to a school in Scotland to learn how to use our magic."

The blonde grinned. "One, don't call me ma'am or Ms. Summers. I am in no way that old." Hermione flushed, but nodded as her friends snickered at her discomfort at being told not to address an authority figure the way one should. "Two, I didn't even know that there were magic schools."

"Yes, I gathered as much," Hermione said, nodding her head in understanding. "And after a lot of research, I believe I figured out why you've never heard of any, or why your friend never got a letter from the Salem Academy." She didn't notice the flinching motion her cousin made at the reference to one of the people that had just kicked her out of her own home, though two of the others noticed. "You see, we use a type of magic that comes from the inside, and then we use our wands as foci to send our magic outwards. Whereas your witch friends are more like practicing a religion that gives them power due to their dedication."

"So basically what you're saying is that your magic comes from the inside, while Will's comes from the outside?"

The witch blinked a few times, before nodding in acceptance at this simplifying of her opening introduction. "How in the world did you figure that out so fast?" the red head asked in shock. "She usually has to explain that stuff to us three times before we understand her," he complained to the woman that their escorts had nearly barbecued with their odd spells.

"Practice at listening to that kind of stuff," Buffy told the kid.

"Yes, well I'm sure we can wait on introductions for a moment, because I fear that I sense great danger approaching," Xavier warned as he rolled to the front of the group.

"Gee, you really know how to introduce a girl, don't you?" a sarcastic voice said as another version of Buffy popped into view.

"The First," the real Buffy groaned. "Family, and friends of family, may I introduce you to the current pain in my ass: master of depressing disguises and all around troublemaker, the one and only, First Evil. Don't suppose any of you know whether or not I can sue it for the use of my face? Grocery shopping has been a real pain lately."

"Sorry, but I'm not sure exactly how copyright laws work with mystical entities," Xavier replied, the edges of his lips twitching upward at the joke. It was amazing to him, as he watched this girl, only a few years older than his junior X-Men team, that she was already destroying the uneasy feeling that this being of evil manifested with just a couple of well placed jokes. Even if her joke material was in need of some work, it was truly amazing that she was able to do it when one considered all of the self-doubt he was sensing from her. He would ask her about the emotional pain later, when no one was around to listen.

"Cute," the First returned. "Of course, words are about all you've got left anymore, aren't they? I mean it's not like you have an army or anything to back your words up with now."

"I swear, at times I think you're more petty than Cordellia ever was."

"Whatever," the First replied, smirking. "Besides, how long do you think they'll actually follow your lead?" The Slayer just glared at her double. "Not to mention that I've already met most of the people here in one form or another. Haven't I, Alex?" The Summers brothers just glared at the thing that had used Jean's memory for it's own purpose. "Or how about you three?" the First asked, turning to the trio. "I mean my ghost characters were fun to talk to, weren't they? After all, we talked about such fascinating things, like schoolbooks, chess, and even girls."

"You were giving advice on girls? Now that is just scary," the Slayer cracked. "Whoever got that is probably going to be even more confused about the subject than before."

The First ignored her as it focused on the teens. "I must admit that getting Snape to leave that book of his behind was amusing. After that, it was easy getting that book into your hands, hero." The three teens clenched their hands in anger. "Oh, did I hurt your feelings by explaining how gullible you three are? The hero, the sidekick, and the smartest witch are upset because they were outsmarted. And I must say the jealousy spells worked quite nicely on you two, don't you think? Especially on you little girl, I barely had to have you hit with one, what with that pride of yours."

The three realized what that meant as they looked at each other in shock. "I'm gonna rip you apart!" the red head finally yelled as he tried to lunge at the First, only to be held back by his friends.

"Don't try it, Ron," Hermione said. "It might be a trap."

"Are you done tormenting us yet?" the dark haired teen asked, meeting the eyes of the First, and trying not to shake with the anger he felt.

"I'll be back later, kids, you can count on that," the First promised as it disappeared in a flash of light.

"Well, that was fun," Buffy said, her rigid posture relaxing as if she had been afraid to show any weakness in front of the evil being that had stood in front of them a moment ago.

Logan chuckled. "You're the master of understatement, ain't ya, darling?"

"Eh, it's a living," the Slayer returned, but there was no longer a smile on her tired face. "Let's find a place to talk, since I don't think I'm going to be convincing any of you to leave."

"Yes, that is quite right. Besides, after having made such an arduous trip in getting here, I can hardly consider leaving just yet," Hank said, stepping hesitantly into the light. Despite his worries, the Slayer just gave him a brief nod.

"Sounds like a beautiful plan, darling," Logan said as they followed the blonde out of the graveyard. "By the way, you boys cost me a case of beer due to your crappy work. I won't forget that," he grumbled at the Summers brothers.

* * *

(Couldn't resist the I got better comment)


	18. Where's Buffy?

**Where's Buffy?**

* * *

The texaswookie dodges the thrown vial of some unknown potion or other, as Serverus Snape enters the room. "Come, surely a would be writer pathetic as you can remember the simple thing that you must say before you start each chapter." The Death Eater sneered, as he draws his wand. Not waiting for an answer, he aims it at the Texan. "Avada Kedavra!" The greasy haired man shouts.

The Texan barely ducks out of the way, as the green bolt of magic collides with the wall. "Aw man I really didn't want to have to be patching up the wall today." The Texan whines, as chunks of plaster fall on him. "You know, with intros like yours it almost makes me miss uncle Jessie and his moonshine." The cowboy says. "By the way, ever here of shampoo?"

"You dare to mock me? The Half-Blood-Prince does not allow such things! Crucio!" A red bolt is snapped from the wand, striking the cocky cowboy.

"ArrrGGHh!"

"Now then, what was that you were saying? And remember, that you are addressing your superior, the Half-Blood Prince when you talk to me."

"I was saying that you need to check the wonderful world of hair care, since you actually still have hair unlike your boss. I was also saying that I own absolutely nothing in this story. Now you can't attack me for not saying anything!"

"That may be, but I can still crucio you for lack of manners and respect to your betters."

"What do you expect? I wasn't born saying chap I was born saying hey you."

"Crucio." The beam strikes the wall, as the smart mouthed Texan is whisked away from a possible trip to insanity, by the tell-tell sign of a whitelighter orbing him to safety.

* * *

**SG-1: Base Camp**

Colonel Jack O'Neill ran a hand through his graying hair as he surveyed the Central Operation Center that they had put together. They were currently using an office building that sat next door to an apartment complex. Taking control of the two buildings had been easy enough seeing as they had been abandoned. They had then set up a pair of generators and soon they were in business to save the world. They were now all set to plan their next move. It was a shame that nearly half of 'Team Family' was a bit distrustful of all of the military people running around; it made working together kind of difficult. Thanks to idiots like Kinsey and the NID, who thought that because they were government they were the rulers of the world, a lot of people that could probably be a help to the government were incredibly distrustful of them instead. It really steamed him that because of people like Maybourne, his own family was a little hesitant to trust him.

He was about join a couple of specialists on mystical and technological weapons to see if they could possibly figure out what this Caleb character might be guarding in the vineyard. Because from what information they did have, it seemed likely that Buffy was right in that aspect, even if her method of attack hadn't been the best. Though after listening to things, it seemed like she had just gotten tired of reacting to threats. He could understand that sort of thing. Hell, he had done it before himself. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it had cost people their lives. He wanted as much information on this vineyard place as he could if he was going to send any of his people on this kind of mission. One of the men on communications waved him over.

"Sir, that Connor MacLeod guy is reporting in."

"Thanks," the Colonel said, accepting a headset. "Yeah, what?" he asked impatiently. "Tell me you found something," he continued hopefully.

"Aye, lad, I've found our girl. I've also found some more o' the family."

"Really? That's great. Listen, I want you to hold back in approaching her until the rest of the family gets there. We don't want you to get hit because you got mistaken for a bad guy."

"Aye, she's likely to either skewer me or laugh at me. Unless there's more than one o' us trying to confront her."

"Yeah, well it's not my fault that you and your friends decided to split up even more after everything that's happened," Jack replied smugly. "You'd think that you would be more careful."

"True, but we've also been able to cover more ground this way," the man said. Jack found himself nodding despite himself. "Besides, I am very good at disappearing into the shadows. Of course, if the First wants to talk it won't have trouble finding me. Do we have a limit as to how far it can go yet?"

"Working on that. If we can figure that out, we'll use a few toys that we have to hold a conversation elsewhere. I hear England is supposed to be nice this time of year."

"Right, so I'll follow Buffy and the rest of the family and friends that she's managed to pick up."

"Right, we'll follow you through the tracking system built into your comm. unit."

"And when were you going to tell me 'bout this little addition to the equipment, Colonel?"

"Sorry, a lot of our people are used to having some kind of tracker on them during missions so we can tell if they need help."

"Understood, lad, but you really should have told us. We have reasons for not wanting people able to track us."

"Understood. Anything else?"

"No, this conversation has gone on long enough. MacLeod out."

"And a pleasure talking to you, too."

"Sir, status report on the Summers house," a soldier repoted, holding out a folder.

"Any change?"

"Yes, sir. Using one of the bugs that Agent Finn placed in the living room, we learned that they are planning on splitting into two main teams with a small group staying at the house. Team 1 is being led by the other Slayer, and will be going to take care of an armory that they learned of. Meanwhile Team 2, which is made up of Commander Summers' closest former advisers, has been given the job of doing some recon on Miss Summers. They seem fairly certain that they can find her somehow."

"I see, and why are they looking for her? I somehow doubt that they're looking to find an apology."

"Unknown, but from the way some of the conversation sounded, we presume that they wanted to make sure that Commander Summers doesn't interfere with the other team's mission."

"Of course, we wouldn't want someone to take the wind out of their sails and actually do something, now would we? How did they find out about this supposed armory?"

"They questioned one of the Bringers."

"How? Those guys don't even have tongues. They can't talk." Jack only knew this because they had hoped to grab some information before they entered the area instead of going in completely blind. Teal'c and Daniel had guessed that this so they wouldn't talk; the whole loose tongue thing.

"Unknown, sir, though we did hear a reference to a spell of some sort that involved Miss Rosenberg and Mr. Wells."

"Magic, great. Anything about what that Caleb guy is supposed to be guarding or making with all of his silent, blind friends? And where is this armory? Even if we don't mess with it, I want someone watching it just in case."

"A team will be ready to follow them the moment they head out," the soldier manning communications said, making a note on his clipboard.

"Make it two, or at least have the other one nearby in case things get hairy."

"Yes, sir."

"And the crazy preacher?" Jack asked as he turned back to the other soldier. "Did they talk about what he's doing in that little hidey hole of his?"

"No, sir. Near as we can tell, they decided not to ask about that place," the man replied with a grimace.

"You mean they didn't question the prisoner about crucial things regarding the fights? They should have." Jack scowled, obviously they were not interested in getting all of the information they could. Maybe he should send Jesse Duke back over there and scare them again; that helped them get info the last time.

"We went over it as much as we could, sir, and as far as we can tell, they didn't ask a single question about the vineyard. And we're pretty sure that we got all of the questions that were asked, and the answers. Seems as though one of the girls was bragging about the fact that she was in the meeting and that she was the one that cut the Bringers throat when he went into the whole ' my boss is glorious and shall rise above you and kill you all. After all, I am but a vessel, yadda yadda.' You know, sir, the same sort of thing we get when we're dealing with Jaffa."

Jack smirked. "Anything else you want to add to your report?"

"Yes, sir. It seems as if all the young adults are feeling extremely horny tonight, and there are bets on who will sleep with whom. The teens and the old man are behaving though, so we won't have to disrupt them for corrupting a minor or anything like that. The old man is actually spending most of his time going over the files of the people in our group that he met. So all of the group leaders, at least, are under scrutiny."

"So he's trying to figure us out, is he?"

"Yes, sir. Should we figure out a way to see to it that he doesn't read those things?"

"Nah, let him read. It might help drive home the fact that he's not in charge of the situation anymore, and that he screwed up royally," Jack said, a smug grin crossing his face. "Now go back to your X-rated movie. Oh, and five bucks says the other Slayer does it with the Principal."

"Yes, sir," the soldier replied, saluting his superior before walking off.

"Send this message out, would ya?" Jack said, handing the comm. officer a slip of paper.

"Yes, sir," was all the soldier said before returning to his duties.

Jack nodded to a few soldiers as he handed over the headset and walked over to the weapons area. He calmly picked up his P-90 and a zat gun. Since he was already wearing an equipment vest and a sidearm, he didn't need to stock up on a whole lot of things. He turned around to see his team, Bra'tac, and the Finns standing there. Teal'c was already holding his staff weapon, Daniel and Sam had their weapons slung across their backs, and the Finns seemed to be restocking more than anything else.

"You didn't really expect us to let you go on your own, did you, sir?" Carter asked, looking at her C.O.

"No, can't really say that I did," the Colonel replied, straightening his gear.

"It shouldn't take too long to get to the cemetery. After that, we can probably pick up the trail rather easily. If we do lose it, we can get confirmation from base camp on which way we need to go. Hopefully she won't be too mad when she sees us in her town," Riley said as he finished prepping his gear.

"Did not Buffy Summers ask for our aide, though?" Bra'tac queried.

"No, she didn't. She warned her family about what was going on. She never actually asked us to help her," Samantha Finn explained. "And to be quite frank, Buffy Summers has every reason to act territorial whenever the military gets involved."

"I see," Teal'c said. "It is a well known fact that some warriors are extremely protective of their territory. Perhaps you merely enforced these feelings."

"You could say that," Riley replied.

"Maybe. Let's just hope she doesn't try to run us off before we can explain things," Daniel said.

"If worse comes to worse, I can always out stubborn her," Jack stated confidently.

"Now that would be worth getting thrown out of town to watch," Riley said. "Be sure to tell me how that works out."

Jack shook his head; Riley Finn was a bit of a mystery to him. For the most part, he was a bulletin board soldier: fairly good looks, big, ramrod straight, all the sorts of things that made generals drool in want. His record showed that he was experienced in the field, with all of his black ops training, and was a perfect second in command. Then there was the hidden side of him that peeked through every once in a while. He was extremely sarcastic when he chose to be. He usually saved it for when he was saying something bad about high-ranking brass, breaking the image of the perfect, loyal soldier. The guy had obviously been disillusioned in the past about something, and if the reports were anything to go on, he would guess it had something to do with what had happened to him when he was in Sunnydale.

"I, too, would like to go with you when you go meet this warrior that shares your blood, O'Neill," Bra'tac said.

"I'll wait here. If she's upset, I'd rather not be the one she decides to use as a punching bag."

"I'll be sure to tell her that you send your best, Graham."

The group headed out to find the Slayer.

* * *

**Charmed: The Bronze**

The three sisters stood in the abandoned nightclub and looked around the place. The building, despite it's obvious state of disrepair, looked like it was almost halfway operational; as if it was one of the last places people had left. Piper was in the back checking the kitchen and storerooms for clues, while Phoebe took the front and the stage, and Prue took the loft and bar. The three sisters were desperately searching for a clue to where their lost cousin might have gone after being kicked out of her own home.

Phoebe glanced around the place in disgust; she had way too many memories of crappy clubs like this from her time in New York. "Well, I think I'm done. I haven't found a single thing. How about you guys?"

"Nothing in the back has been messed with in a long time," Piper answered from where she stood at the door. "So I'm guessing that she hasn't come here. Though scarily enough, despite the shortage on food in here, there's enough reserve drinks here to make you wonder if the food was really that bad."

"Nothing up here either," Prue hollered down at them from the loft. "Looks like we struck out." The eldest of the witches looked down from the loft at her two sisters. "And the bar is just about empty. Looks like the last group here had a drinking binge before they got the hell out." The witch waved her hand at a the piece of wood she was standing on, and floated herself down to the ground.

"So, now what?"

"Now we check outside."

The radios that had been pressed on them when they had gone searching suddenly squawked to life. "All family, we have had a Slayer sighting. Make your way toward the Restfield cemetery, please."

"Guess we don't have to do that. Let's go."

Dukes of Hazzard: Streets of Sunnydale

Luke sat on the hood of the General Lee. He had his bow ready with an arrow already knocked, and was ready to use it if someone, or something, decided to make things difficult for them while they searched for their missing cousin. All of the Dukes had been combing the streets in their cars, but so far they had all come up empty.

"Lost Sheep to Shepard, Lost Sheep to Shepard. Any luck yet, Shepard?" Bo asked from where he sat in the driver's seat.

"This is Shepard, boys. I'm afraid I still ain't seen hide nor hair of her yet. I thought you boys were hard to find, but it looks like your cousin has both of ya beat hands down. At least you're easy to spot with the General."

"Well, when we do find her, you can ask how it is that she disappears so easily in this town," Bo returned.

"Well when we find her, I want to know what she was a thinking, wandering around the streets like this. You'd think that the girl would know better."

"You're forgetting what kind of cousin she is, Uncle Jesse. Maybe she's attracted to trouble as much as we are."

"That don't mean I have to like it."

"Don't mind him, boys. He's just mad and wants another go at her friends," Daisy's voice came over the radio.

"All right, darlin', we understand. Anything on your end, Cooter, Enos?"

"Not yet, boys. Me and old Enos are still a looking, though. You can be assured of that. Besides, we ain't got any moonshine with us. A serious lack of foresight when we decided to come and get Enos."

"Right. Call us back in a while." Bo sighed as he placed the C.B. radio back in place. The blonde man rubbed his jaw tiredly as he continued looking around, hoping to see a flash of blonde hair.

The military radio chose that moment to start making noise. "All family, we have had a Slayer sighting. Make your way toward the Restfield cemetery, please."

"You hear that, boys?"

"Yes, sir, we surely did," Bo answered. Luke was already sliding back through the passenger side window.

"We'll meet you there then. Out."

"Punch it, Bo," his cousin ordered.

"You got it, cousin," Bo said, a cocky grin on his face as he accelerated, then spun the car around and headed the direction that they had just come. Small bits of rock and pavement flew up in the air as the General Lee became a giant orange blur on the streets of Sunnydale.

* * *

**Highlander: Docks**

Duncan stretched himself out as he wandered the deserted docks with his friends. His clansman Connor, and the old man Methos, had both decided not to join them in searching the place. Neither of the Immortals had really wanted to join them, since both of the crazy older Immortals didn't think that working with others was ever really the answer. They continued thinking that, despite the number of times that they had been saved due to teamwork. With the amount of time that they spent walking out of fights, one might think that they were cowards, but the truth was that they were just cautious people, with overwhelming senses of guilt, that weren't really interested in parting with their heads.

"You got a lot on your mind?" Richie asked his teacher.

"Aye, this whole thing is a bit of an eye opener. And not just because of the whole supernatural thing, either."

"It's your kinsman, isn't it? You never realized that he had a family like this, did you?"

"You're right," he admitted. "I thought I was all the family that he really had, and that somehow he never really needed to make much more than that. I know that family has always been something that me kinsman has wanted, but its kind of startling seeing the results of one o' those families. His secretary is another one o' the ones that he saved during one of the wars he was in. From what he told me, she was left an orphan after the people that he was fighting performed an air strike, or something like that. The girl was eight at the time, as I understand. I just never guessed that his connections like that would give him such a big family."

"Well, deep down isn't that what we all privately want? A family that cares for us, no matter what we do? Us, we're a family because we were all in the same boat. Those others might be families of blood, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were family by hardship either, or they wouldn't all be here."

"Aye, maybe you're right."

"Of course I am. Heck, I bet in some weird, twisted, demented way Amanda and Methos want that as well."

"Methos as a dad is actually a rather scary thought," Duncan said, chuckling.

"Well, isn't this sweet," a voice commented as six new Immortals stepped out of the shadow of a building to confront them. "All this talk about families is enough to make a person tear up," jeered the spokesman of the group.

"Why is it that whenever we get interrupted, it's almost always with some cheesy line like that?" Amanda asked as she drew her own sword.

"You know that it's their way, Amanda," Duncan replied, drawing his Katana. "You wouldn't want them to go and do something brand new and original, now would you? Besides, I believe that you are the one that likes setting trends."

"That is true, Highlander," Methos said as he melted out of the shadows and stood waiting with his own sword drawn.

"Death," one of the Immortals said, nodding. "My master's master told me about you."

"Abrams. It's been a while since I've seen you, or your masters."

"That it has."

The spokesman began talking again. "Well, boys, we are really in the presence of greatness here today. May I introduce to you to the one and only, Death. Or, as he is better known to certain people, Methos." Methos nodded to the group that was in a standoff with his friends. "And now that that's out of the way, I hereby challenge you." The Immortal drew a wicked looking broad sword.

"If you insist," Methos said bringing his sword into a guard position. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" he asked as he saw the others were looking each other down, in case they started fighting in a number of challenges.

"Let's just do this; now that there is no place for you to run and hide," the other immortal said mockingly. "After all, how likely is it that you'll be entering Holy Ground again after all of this is over? Of course out here it might be closer to cursed land."

"I have decided to accept your challenge, there is no need to be insulting. Shall we fight?"

"All right," the Immortal said casually before lunging at Methos, his blade coming down in a quick slice. Methos casually batted the weapon out of the way and then took a few steps back after a few more quick slashing strikes that were intended more for searching out the older Immortal's defenses than anything else. Methos retaliated with small jabs with his blade, which gave him an idea of what kind of swordsman he was facing, as well.

The two Immortals then began circling each other, now that they had gotten an idea of what they both could do. "I'll give you this last chance to walk away from this. I'm really not all that eager to have your arrogance in me."

"Big talk, old man. You're just scared because you see that Death has finally come for you." The Immortal smirked at him, goading him to attack again.

"Hardly," Methos replied as he tangled his sword with his opponents, and then with an arcing motion, followed by a twist of his wrist, the other Immortal's sword went flying into the air, spinning until it landed out of sight. They all heard the distant plop as it fell into the water.

"Nice one," the Immortal said as he brought a heavy fist across Methos' face. "Hope you don't mind if I use that one some time."

"You still have a high opinion of yourself and your skills, despite the fact that you have been disarmed."

"Big whoop. I still have both of my arms."

"Don't tempt me into removing them," Methos barked as he spun his sword, stabbing the Immortal in the shoulder. "Now then, you have a choice before you. You can either back off, or I can take your head. What's it going to be?"

"Oh, come on, you don't fool me, Methos. You don't have what it takes to kill anymore," the man replied confidently.

"That's a mistake you shouldn't make," Methos said coolly.

"Then do it," the Immortal taunted. "Unless your afraid?"

"You are insane then?" Methos questioned.

"So they say." Nodding, Methos raised his sword. "Welcome back." The man snickered darkly as Methos swung his sword, slicing through the man's neck. A few drops of blood splattered the ground before the power of the quickening storm came. Methos groaned as the power entered him, as another head was added to his number. He felt the rush as the man's memories and Quickening merged with his own.

"You okay, Methos?"

"Yes, you freaking Boy Scout, I'm just fine," the man grunted out before he fell to the ground in exhaustion. "We need to move. Unless, of course, you want to explain to the soldier boys why a freak lightening storm happened right over us, and why there is now a headless corpse here with us."

The military radio that had been pressed onto them chose that moment to start issuing an update. "All family, we have had a Slayer sighting. Make your way toward the Restfield cemetery, please."

"Figures," Richie grumbled as he and the others sheathed their swords after the unknown Immortals had made a run for it.

"How long do you think he'll be out?" Amanda asked as Richie and Duncan helped Methos up.

"Hard to tell yet," Duncan replied. "Why don't ye go and get us a car. It will probably be easier for us if we do that.

"One hotwired car, coming up," the thief said as she walked over to a cargo van. She soon had the van ready to go.

"Good, let's go," Joe said as they pushed Methos into a passenger seat.

The First smiled as it watched Methos absorb the idiot. It had made that one the unofficial leader for just this occasion. Now, in time, Methos would return to the side that he was supposed to be on. Soon Death would cut another swath of destruction that would remake his legend. Smirking at the ease of this, the First disappeared with another bright flash of light.

* * *

**Smallville: Sunnydale College Campus**

Clark looked up from where he and his parents were standing. Focusing on one of the closest buildings, he narrowed his eyes as he activated his x-ray vision to search it. He started at the top, going through each room, looking for the figure of his cousin inside. A part of him wished that he had a bit more time at this so he could go through some of the things that were still inside. The inside of this building appeared to be free of life, except for a few birds that looked like they were too hurt to leave under their own power. Using his super speed and x-ray vision, he had already searched half of the campus in this manner. He had mainly stopped here for a moment to catch his breath, and to allow his parents to catch up with him. Jonathan Kent looked at his son for a moment before he finally asked the question that had been tugging at his thoughts ever since he had watched Clark take down the dark haired Slayer. "Clark, I have a question that I need to ask you."

"Yeah, sure, what is it, dad?" Clark asked, turning to give his father his undivided attention.

"When you caught that girl's fist in your hand, did it actually hurt? Or was it like getting hit by anything else?"

"I felt it, if that's what you're asking. Why?"

"Well, Clark, there is so much about your powers that we don't understand, that every time something new comes up, it's also a chance for us to learn about you and your abilities. Besides, this is the first time that we've come across a super powered being that wasn't… empowered I guess would be the best way to put it, by meteor rocks. It just opens up a whole new world of things for us to deal with."

"Yeah," Clark replied, understanding that his father wanted him to be ready for whatever the world threw at him. "Well, that preacher guy was a lot stronger, but it was also because of him that I was ready for her. If I had met her first, she might have gotten in a few hits before I could do anything," he explained to his parents who were giving him a questioning look. "As it was, I was ready for the amount of power that she used against me. In fact, I was more than ready because of it."

"So, since you were ready for her, you slammed her into a truck?" his mother questioned him.

Clark looked embarrassed at that. "Sorry. I listened in to what they were saying inside, and I guess I was kind of annoyed that they did that to her."

"It's all right, son. Fortunately, all you did was knock the wind out of her, and I know that you could have done a lot worse," Jonathan said, patting his son on the shoulder. "Worse case scenario is that she'll have a bruise on her back tomorrow."

"I hope so, 'cause I don't think I really want all of those people mad at me. At least not anymore than they already are."

"Don't worry about it, honey. Now, how about we get back to looking for this cousin of yours?" Martha Kent suggested, giving her son a hug. "Just know that whether or not you get to meet Buffy, you're not alone."

Clark winced as his mother pegged the real reason for his anger over what had happened. "Sounds good in theory, mom, but deep down I can't help but wonder if she doesn't have something that could help me. Maybe just some words of advice that will make it all more bearable."

"Or maybe someone for you to talk to?" Jonathan Kent asked in understanding. As much as he didn't like it, in some ways his son was growing beyond him, no matter what he did to keep up. Perhaps this Buffy could help him, though. It might help keep him from making some of the mistakes that she had made. If that were the case, he would never let either of them know how hurt he felt about it.

"Well, I guess we should get back to work now, huh?"

"I'm afraid so. The thing is that you have to do most of the work. The only thing your mother and I can do is hold this," Jonathan said, holding up the radio, which chose that moment to come to life.

"All family, we have had a Slayer sighting. Make your way toward the Restfield cemetery please."

"Hmm, looks like you just got saved from having to run all over the rest of the campus," Jonathan said as he tucked the radio back onto his hip. "We'll take the truck," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," Clark replied, though it was obvious that he would rather run.

* * *

**BTVS/Spike: Cemetery**

Spike grumbled to himself as he followed Buffy's scent. "Stupid, idiotic wankers. Where do they bloody get off, kicking the Slayer out of her own damn house? 'Specially after all that she's done for them. Ungrateful bunch of tossers. It's not like she sacrificed her future for them. Oh wait, she did. Well, it's not like she sacrificed her sanity. Nope, did that, too. Otherwise, she wouldn't have slept with me on the sly. Well, how about her love? Nope, she did that, too; a few times too many, but she's done it with Captain Forehead. Let's see, I know: she never sacrificed them. That's the one thing she never bloody gave up on. Bunch of traitors," the bleach blonde, ensouled vampire muttered. He was having a hard time keeping his demon inside, especially since a part of him wanted to put that Faith bint through the door after everything that had happened. He had wanted to do it so badly, but he hadn't. Buffy wouldn't have liked it, and if she wanted it done, then she should be the one to do it, so he had pulled back. He should have told them off more, but the dark haired Slayer would have gotten in his way again. He sighed. He had really thought that Dawn was a better person than that. And what was Droopy being so pissed off about? He was the one who had been tortured, not once, but twice for the slayer. First there had been that Hell bitch, and then there had been the First screwing around with his head before going for the physical punishment.

The vampire was so busy with his dark thoughts, (and they were dark thoughts, not brooding thank you very much, brooding was his grandsire's bag) that he hadn't even noticed where he was going. "Oh bloody hell, please not that place," the vampire groaned as he looked at the spot where Buffy had jumped the fence. She might not be able to take this right now. He jumped the fence and ran toward the place he knew Buffy would be, if she were still there.

He ran over to where Joyce's gravesite was and looked around in shock. Either Buffy had finally lost her temper here and had cut loose with some super secret Slayer power no one had bothered to tell him about, or some sort of mystic, or something like that, had decided to take on the Slayer when they thought she was down and weak. Though the top-secret power wasn't a bad bet. He looked around, hoping to find some sort of clue as to what had happened here. There were about a dozen different scents all over the place. One belonged to the Slayer, but the others smelled like they came from every corner of the world. Some of them had even been traveling together, since their scents were a little intermingled. There were also the odd bits of metal, and strangely enough brimstone, fur, and even some kind of horse. He could also smell a bit of blood. He wandered around the whole area, where there had obviously been a major fight. Eyeing the broken tree branch, he noted that the only spot it could have come from and wondered what had hit it. He could keep searching the battlefield now, or he could follow the trail. Cursing to himself, he turned away from the mess before him. He had to find the Slayer. He had information for her, whatever it meant. He walked over to the headstone that had somehow been missed he noted with relief, though he noticed with some amusement that Buffy's headstone had been cracked. Her name was gone. all that was left was the 'SHE SAVED THE WORLD A LOT' part. He looked beside it where Joyce's grave stood.

"I'll find her, Joyce. You have my word on that," the vampire promised before he chased after the scents. He sure had a thing for making promises to the Summers women.

* * *

**Supernatural: Sewers**

"Remind me why we're down here again?" Dean asked his brother as they waded through the slimey water.

"Because we didn't claim any of the other places before the others. And it's a known way for speedy, unobserved travel," Sam answered, shining his flashlight down one of the many tunnels.

"And we couldn't let the army boys do this place because?"

"Because I don't want you trying to race that bright orange car when we're supposed to be looking for this girl," Sam returned, giving his brother a knowing look. "And it's easier if we just take the temptation away from you. Besides, if you weren't trying that, you would be trying to get one of those girls into bed. And quite frankly, I don't think that would be a smart move considering how many of their family members know how to use shotguns."

"Sam, if I didn't know better, I would swear that you're saying that you don't approve of me mixing business and pleasure."

"Wow, maybe you can learn something," Sam replied sarcastically as he lead them down the tunnel, the flashlight pausing over the remains of some type of creature that had been eaten by something bigger and probably meaner.

"Looks like something enjoyed the all you can eat buffet," Dean commented dryly as they continued on. "Makes you wonder just what it is that has eating habits like that."

"You have a really warped sense of humor. You know that, right?"

"You're just jealous 'cause you can't sound and look as good as me while doing this."

"Dude, are you trying to argue about who looks better in sewer slime?"

"No, I mean yes, oh forget it. You are seriously no fun sometimes." Dean took the lead for a while, randomly selecting tunnels.

"You are keeping track of which way we're going, right?" Sam asked after the sixth turn.

"We just need to find a ladder to find our way out, Sammy, Dean replied indifferently. He looked into one area and shrugging, he entered through a giant crack and whistled in appreciation at the now empty torch racks that hung around the room. There was even some kind of stone throne in the middle of the room. Looking around, he noticed a pool and flashed his light into it to see if there was anything in it. "Oh man, I can't believe we found a place like this. It just reeks of a big, bad, dark overlord or something, don't you think? You think there's any treasure trove around here, Sammy?"

"I don't think that Buffy girl is going to be here, Dean," Sam said, paling as he looked around the room.

"Really? Why not?" Dean asked as he moved some of the rocks in the water around with his shoe.

"Because according to the notes that we, or I at least, read, we're standing in the lair of the vampire that called himself the Master. He actually drowned Buffy in that pond you're standing in, after draining her of some of her blood. When she died her first time and was resurrected with CPR, that is."

"So, we're in a place of history then?" Dean questioned after he had jumped out of the water and shot a dirty look at his grim brother, who was currently ignoring him.

"I guess so. The first reviving place of the Slayer," Sam said, making a note on the map he was carrying with him.

"Dad would love to check this place out."

"Yeah, but we've got more important things to do than look at this sort of stuff."

"Wait a minute. You know where we are, don't you?" Dean accused his younger brother, giving him the patented older sibling glare that was mandatory for all older siblings to learn.

"Maybe I have an idea," Sam replied, the ghost of a grin on his face as he met his brother's disgusted glare.

"So the whole 'you are keeping track of where we're going' thing was nothing more than your way of pushing my buttons?"

Sam was saved from answering when the army radio sprang to life. "All family, we have had a Slayer sighting. Make your way toward the Restfield cemetery please."

"This isn't over," Dean promised. "I am so going to make you pay when this is all over."

"Consider it pay back for all the times you annoyed me. Now come on, we have to find a way back to the Impala."

"Right."


	19. Together at Last

**Together at Last**

Okay folks we have a new beta ready to go for the second half of this story so a welcome and a prayer of pity to DofEire for doing this.-

The writer falls to the ground painfully, as he is orbed into wherever the heck he's been taken too this time. Looking around he sees a woman with pale white skin, and dark hair, that was angrily scowling at him. "Let me guess, your mad cause your not in this story right?"

"Well you thought right." Paige Matthews said, glaring at the writer. "So my name came up on the list to be the one to make sure that you do the right thing in legal stuff, and if you don't I can always send you to the underworld a few times. You know, every time your about to die I could pull you back here. Or I can always use the crystals to create some kind of torture device."

"I don't know whether or not I should be worried, that there's obviously a list of characters that are just waiting to torture me." The Texan drawls, as he scrambles to his feet.

"Oh you should be worried. Crystals!" The half white lighter said, waving her hands and the crystals surrounded the writer in a pentagram.

"Don't suppose you'd be willing to talk about this."

"You know the rules of this game." Paige said smiling darkly, as she placed the last crystal down. As soon as the crystal was in place magical energy began attacking the writer. The Texan screamed in pain, as the power struck him knocking him back down to the ground. Paige looked a bit smug, as she removed the crystal from the formation.

"Well?"

"Fine. The writer said panting, as he pulled himself back up. "I the texaswookie, do not own any of the various universes, realities, or whatever you wanna call them that are in this story. If you need to know who owns the realities check some of the earlier chapters. And the chapter where the Supernatural cast is first introduced. Happy?" The writer enquires of the witch.

"No." The witch replied sulkily. "This is all I get to do for this story." Paige said, as she waved her hands, and the writer disappeared in a sparkle of lights.

* * *

Buffy looked at the group of people behind her, and realized that her original plan of just breaking into a random house for the night wasn't really going to work anymore. Unfortunately, there weren't a whole lot of places they could go that were big enough for a group of this size either. She sighed tiredly; she guessed tonight was just her night for checking out old haunts. Shaking her head, she led them to the snob district of the demon world, as Xander had once referred to this side of town. Fortunately it was close to the graveyard. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a man who, for some idiotic reason, was still here. He watched them walk past, his shotgun following after them; then, as if the sight of them was the last straw for him, he ran for the car that sat in front of his house and drove off with a squeal of tires. She finally led them to a large house that had some of her earliest, and greatest, Sunnydale memories.

"Nice place ya got here," the kid who had introduced himself as Bobby said, as he warily looked at the old mansion. "It yours?"

Buffy smiled at the thought of her owning something like this. "It belongs to an ex-boyfriend," she explained, as she led them into the courtyard of Angel's old mansion. Walking with confidence, she got to the door, and picked up the hidden key and turned it. She gestured them all inside, before she shut the door behind her. She couldn't help the sad smile that she wore, as she looked around her. It was exactly the same as it was the last time that she was here.

"Wasn't much on furniture, was he?" Ron asked, as he looked at the couch and chairs that sat there.

Buffy remembered trying to read Angel's mind there that one time, but she didn't have time for memories right now; she had to concentrate on the here and now. "He wasn't really big on the whole social thing."

"Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"You do remember reading the part about the vampire with a soul right?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, had a girl's name, and someone shoot me," Ron said, comprehension dawning on his face, as he realized the stupidity of his comments. His two friends rolled their eyes in exasperation, as if used to these sorts of foot in mouth syndrome from him.

A few others had grins on their faces, as they tried to hide their amusement. "Why don't you go and rest for a moment, Miss Summers." Xavier said suggested, as his chair settled to the ground courtesy of Hermione's spell work. You look like you could use a few minutes on the bed."

The young woman nodded, and retreated to a bedroom to give herself a moment to regain her self-control.

"Professor?" Alex asked

"Something unexpected has happened, and has thrown her completely off balance. She needs a moment to get herself back in control, before we decide how we're going to deal with the crisis that is coming."

"What do you think happened?" Colossus asked.

"Why don't we wait a few minutes, and perhaps she can tell us. Why don't you young ones check the place out?" Xavier ordered. "Search for any kind of trouble on both the inside and out. We will call you when Buffy comes back around."

"Yes Professor." Kitty and Rogue said, as they led their team out of the room to do a perimeter check.

Shrugging their shoulders, the magic users trailed after them. The dark haired teen stopped, and turned to look at them. "If you plan on us not fighting, then you're mental. Not fighting cost us our teacher, we won't make that mistake again."

"No, Harry, that is not it. We actually do need to make the place secure, and there are a few matters that don't need your input since they have to do with how we fight."

"Something to do with those energy beams of yours, that you did without using a wand?" he asked curiously.

"Yes."

"Hmm, I would have sworn those were magic beams of some kind."

"There is more to our abilities than that, my boy. And right now, we need to discuss a few things, and it would take time to explain all of the terms to you."

"All right, if you say so," Harry replied hesitantly, as he followed after the others.

"Seems like a fairly good kid," Cyclops commented, "though he seems to be pretty cautious, too."

"Yes, he does, but he also seems to have been put through a few emotional trials," Storm said, making her own observations. "His eyes are much too sad to belong to any other kind of person. It makes me wonder what it is that gives him such a sad soul," the weather witch mused. "His soul sings a lot like Rogue's."

"So? The kid's used tah standin' on his own." Logan said, as he stabbed an overhead smoke detector, before it decided to assault his ears over the cigar in his mouth. "Seems like the kind you want to be level with. Unless you want him to hide things from you, that is."

"I believe that you are all accurate in your assessments, of our young, bespectacled unknown collaborator," Beast said, as he took the floor. "And now that that is finished. I assume that we can take a few moments to look at something? As you may or may not know, with the collective technological skills of our very own dear Shadowcat, the knowledgably gifted Doug Ramsey, Professor, and myself, we have managed to create the mini-Cerebro." Beast stated proudly. He pulled a handheld device out of his jacket to display whatever it was he was talking about to them.

"That's nice, but I thought that the amount of power required for Cerebro was too great for something of that size?" Storm noted.

"Well, if it were like the primary Cerebro, it would be. While the main Cerebro detects and identifies any and all mutants, and allows for a telepath to communicate with them anywhere on the planet, as you hinted, it is much too big and bulky to carry, say, on the Blackbird. On the other hand, we can use these wonderful little Mini-Cerebros to scan for particular types of mutant genetic coding. It is capable of detecting only one or two specific kinds of genetic coding, in a small area; nothing more or less, unfortunately. Though, on a side note, its range is greatly increased if we have an actual blood sample from which to search for a target," Beast said happily, as he finished displaying his new "toy".

"Can the science talk, blue boy, and explain to me what it does," Wolverine grumbled. "Not all of us have all of those college degrees like you do."

"It finds mutants in the area." Xavier explained, "But only if they match a certain mutant genetic power signature."

"So what's that got to do with us here?"

"Well, you do recollect Xavier and myself being quite skeptic on the existence of vampires, and other such supernatural things, correct? How we theorized, that it was far more probable that we were dealing with some sort of mutant turf war that had gotten out of proportion."

"Yeah, you were wrong, we were right."

"Well, this particular mini-Cerebro scans for enhanced reflexes, strength, healing and those sorts of items. That might have appeased our egos."

"In other words, it looks for mutants that just seem like enhanced humans or something, right?" Alex asked.

"Yes, well, it seems that the Professor and I were erroneous to doubt Wolverine and Nightcrawler in this matter. Particularly, since no one but us has show any traces of the mutant X factor, regardless of the fact that we've seen people camouflage themselves, command a winged horse that only particular individuals can see, and show a form of telekinesis using nothing but a stick. In some ways, they actually defy the laws of science!"

"So, we were right and you were wrong. Is that what yer saying, McCoy?" Logan asked smugly.

"Yes." Hank said hanging his head in defeat, he hated being proven wrong, but in this case the supernatural aspects of the world were slapping him in the face, and he doubted that they were done showing themselves. For all he knew, they were just starting to show themselves to him.

"Professor, we got company!" Rogue's voice shouted.

The group got up to meet whoever it was that was there, and were surprised by the Billy Idol double that walked in. The man didn't even blink as he looked at them. "Where's the Slayer?" he asked angrily. "I swear, if you've hurt her..."

"You'll, what?" Wolverine growled from where he was standing. "Whine like a baby? I don't have time to listen to you and your crap, Spike."

The vampire blinked in surprise, his mouth hanging open in shock. "I thought I killed you," Spike said slowly, stunned to see Logan standing there.

"Not from lack of trying, bub. Getting pushed off that bridge hurt."

"Logan, now is not the time to start a fight, at least not with a potential ally," Xavier said, as he came between the men.

"Oh bugger, for God's sake, I'm not interested in any of those end of the world schemes that you might have. In case you forgot to read the memo, I'm a good vampire now. In other words, I'm not interested in what you're peddling."

"Actually, I was hoping you could help Miss Summers. She does have a war to fight, and we'll be more than happy to help her if she can wake up."

"What did you lot do to her?" The vampire snarled, looming over the man in a wheelchair.

"Nothing, except watch her beat two of my people up."

"That's my Slayer," the vampire said proudly. "Which room? Never mind I know where she'll be." He said, as he walked in and shut the door.

"Well that was interesting was it not, mein freunde? Nightcrawler questioned, as they all watched the figure knowingly head for the room that the Slayer was in

* * *

**Order of the Phoenix: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and wizardry: Great Hall**

Minerva McGonagall stood up from her seat in the Great Hall, and looked down at the assembled witches and wizards gathered around two of the house tables. Many of them had been taught magic within these very halls, and over half of them she could name off of the top of her head. Some, though, were better remembered, or known than others, she thought, as she looked over at the Weasley family. They were all here, all except for Ginny and Ron, of course. Fleur Delacour sat beside Bill, a single shining mass of silver amongst a bobbing sea of red. McGonagall frowned, as she looked at the clock. Remus had yet to show, and it was almost time for them to leave. He had fifteen minutes till he would be too late.

"Everyone get into yer groups!" Moody hollered, seeing the time as well as she did. "And stay vigilant! I don't want anything to happen to anyone! Is that understood?" There was a mumbled agreement, as people bunched together around the tables. On the tables were Portkeys that would take the teams of people to different parts of the Sunnydale Hellmouth.

Minerva decided that she had to say something for the sake of the various people here, whom were willing to risk their lives for Harry.

Damn Albus for dying on them like that! They needed his calm, soothing presence now more than ever. And damn Harry and his friends for running out on them like they had. Instead of this generation's hero and last generation's hero leading them into the fight, they were stuck without any true leader. What's more, they had to wait to know who the next leader of the Order would be, since Fawkes had yet to choose one, and during these times they truly needed Albus.

Clearing her throat, she looked at the figures that had rearranged themselves. They had only been able to get thirty members to show up for this fight. All things considered, that was quite a feat. "I hope that you have spent the last few days familiarizing yourselves with the information packets that were handed out to you. Unlike during your O.W.L.s, this information could help save your life in just a few hours." Saying this, Minerva paused to glare knowingly at several of her former graduates. The twins, seeing an opportunity, could not seem to stop themselves, as they stood up and bowed regally before their old Head of House. There were a few chuckles, and an irate Molly ordered them to sit down, but they had eased the tension in the room. "Now then," McGonagall continued, "in a few minutes your Portkeys will be taking you to the California Hellmouth, where we will be searching for Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger. Once you arrive stay in your groups, since there is no way to tell what exactly it is that we will face once we get there." She warned looking over some of her more impulsive Order members. "There is a reason that it is called a Hellmouth, people, it is very dangerous and should not be taken lightly.

"Once you find them, try and peacefully hold them. You are then to send out your Patronus, and someone they know and trust will come and talk to them. Do not try and force the issue with them," Professor McGonagall said sternly, giving all of them a hard stare that had even some of the Aurors shifting uncomfortably. "There is a high probability that they will have joined up with the Slayer by the time we arrive."

One of the doors to the Great Hall creaked open, and two figures walked through. The two men were met with several wands pointed at them.

"That's better than some dunderheads." Moody growled at them. "But none of ya thought to cover the other ways in while you were all waving your wands at those doors! You really think that an attacker is going to come through in such an obvious way?"

Several of the wizards blushed as they placed their wands back into their pockets, though several of them gave Remus mistrustful looks and darkly muttered about what he was. The hateful tone of their comments of "Werewolf... half-breed...Dark Creature" could be heard throughout the Hall. Others looked in curiosity at the man that stood beside him, dressed in Muggle attire.

"Hmm," the unknown man said, as he surveyed the room with detached interest.

McGonagall strode up to the two of them, glancing with distaste at the Muggle werewolf's appearance. He wore baggy Muggle jeans with a multitude of pockets; a handful of items were visible sticking out from them. A long-sleeved, button-up shirt had been left open, showing the t-shirt beneath it, which read "Dingoes Ate My Baby". The man's short, spiky hair was streaked with blue and gold, with a black streak breaking the other two colors apart. He had pale blue eyes that reminded Minerva strongly of Sirius Black, and a day's worth of stubble on his face. In one hand, he carried a guitar case covered in stickers from various countries which, she supposed, he had visited. A battered rucksack was slung over one of his shoulders.)

"Remus! Thank Merlin, you're here. I thought we were going to have to leave without you. Is this the young man that you told us about earlier?"

"Yes, when I explained the situation to him he just picked up his bag and guitar and was ready," Lupin replied, smiling faintly at her.

"And ready we are." McGonagall said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, young man, and I just wish it was more pleasant circumstances that brought us together."

"Same here," the American werewolf said, as he adjusted the straps on his bag and walked towards Moody's group. McGonagall blinked in surprise; she had expected someone a little more outspoken than that. "Has Mr. Lupin explained the situation here?"

The werewolf nodded, as he sat down in an empty chair.

McGonagall was finding the lack of speech to be slightly annoying; she was used to people of this young man's age answering her, at the very least. She was about to suggest the werewolf try talking, when Remus stepped between them, saying, "Minerva, may I speak with you for a moment?"

Minerva nodded, and Lupin led her nearly to the other end of the Great Hall. She sincerely doubted that the other werewolf would be able to hear their conversation from even half this distance, but decided to humor Remus for now.

Remus looked at her and shook his head in amused disbelief. "Minerva, you and Severus may be the boggart forms of several students who have come through Hogwarts, but that young man over there has faced demons and vampires on a daily basis before today. You just cannot impress him with the old scary teacher bit; it won't work. And then, of course, there is the fact that he is a high level Lobo Alpha werewolf," Lupin concluded, looking unforgivably smug.

McGonagall opened her mouth in surprise, and looked at the young man who was calmly chatting with Moody, who seemed to be questioning him; the American werewolf was still giving his two or three-word answers.

'This young man was a High Alpha level werewolf?'

Remus was a pack wolf, which is why he was so much better when the rest of the Marauders had been around. James Potter, Sirius Black, and, to an extent, even Peter Pettigrew, had all helped keep the inner beast contained. The thing was, though, that pack wolves needed a pack to keep their lunar powers in check and to grow into their powers. Werewolves that didn't stick with their packs often died insane, unless they had strong wills. Minerva remembered after the Potters had died, and they had carted Black off to Azkaban, that Remus had slowly but surely diminished from what he had once been. He had nearly been a shell of his former self by the time Albus had brought him in to teach after Black had escaped. The fact that he now saw Harry as pack was probably one of the few things that kept him alive these days. He was fading even faster than he had last time, now that Sirius was dead as well.

Lobos, on the other hand, were loners, and grew into their powers better if they were on their own. For a wolf to be a High Level Alpha, he would have to be extremely powerful. Remus was only a Mid Level Alpha, which means that he was probably the equivalent to a statesman of some kind. The only Alpha level that she actually knew of was Fenrir Greyback, and he led through domination and fear. She highly doubted that the young man she had just met would be much of a match for him.

"He looks far too young to be an Alpha, though, Remus, much less a high level," Minerva protested.

"Considering the age he was when he was turned, it's even more amazing," replied Lupin, looking grave.

"How so?"

"He was bitten in his late teens. I believe the report from the Slayer that has bits of the life story of all of her friends mentions him. He's the musician werewolf that dated the Slayer's best friend."

"Incredible."

"Yes, small world we live in, eh?" He asked, flashing her one of his rare smiles. "But he is also a person of very few words. He means no disrespect, it is merely his way."

"Very well," she said grudgingly.

The two of them then watched as the werewolf began having a conversation with Bill Weasley.

"If everyone is in their groups, we can get going," Moody growled out, everyone nodded, as they placed their hands on the various items on the tables. Everyone watched as the last few seconds ticked away, and then they all felt a pull behind their navels. As the clock hand touched the twelve they disappeared, leaving Hogwarts in silence, if you didn't count Peeves' laughter and Filch's cursing.

* * *

**Family already together: Outside Angel's House**

Connor McLeod sat in the shadows, and watched as the various cars and trucks pulled up to his position. He nodded to the Colonel and his people, as they joined the rest of the stragglers. "We all here, finally?" the Immortal asked, as he drifted out of the shadows. The Highlander noted that only Methos, and the men who wore the symbol of Apophis on their foreheads, didn't seemed startled by his appearance out of nowhere.

The older of the two men with the symbol spoke. "We appear to be all here. Now we have but to go and meet with this kinsman of yours. Hopefully, we will not be seen as attackers; I would hate having to wound one who I will later on call an ally in this great battle that is coming."

"Amen to the no hurting them policy." Jack said, as he checked his zat gun over – just in case things did get violent. He left his P-90 as a reserve. "So, campers, are we ready?" He got enough nods to satisfy him, so he set off for the courtyard. They walked through the gate and were met by a group of people dressed in black.

"We help you, bub?" a man with several blades in his hands asked, as he barred the way. Jack was briefly reminded of the Street Fighter games with the really short and quick guy that he lost to a lot. What was that guy's name again?

"Yeah, we're looking for a short blonde girl who is supposed to have one hell of a right hook. Believe that she goes by the name Buffy. But she also goes by the handle of Slayer. Maybe you've seen her?" Luke asked, as he offered his hand out to the group of people that were prepared to face off against them.

"Sheathe your claws, Logan; I do believe that these people have come all this way to greet their family and assist her in whatever way they can," a man's voice called out through the doorway. "Much in the way that we have done."

"You sure they're family, Chuck? Some of them look an awful lot like military." Wolverine said, not liking the fact that he might have to work with soldier boys.

"Yes, Logan, I am quite sure that they are friends. Besides, I don't think that Hank would like it very much if you tried to cut up Major Carter. I understand the two of them are e-mailing buddies."

"The Major Samantha Carter? The Air Force's Golden Child when it comes to the exquisite and enlightening issue of Quantum Physics Theory?" a blue, ape-like man asked excitedly as he stepped into view.

Ignoring the weapons that were suddenly being trained on him, the man bowed low to Carter in an almost regal manner. "My dear associate! It is, indeed, a noteworthy moment to be blessed by your presence. My only lament of this momentous occasion is that our salutations are hindered by the malevolent times that are now upon us," he continued, offering his hand to Carter. She took it hesitantly, and Hank placed a courtly kiss on the back of Sam's hand before releasing it.

"And you are?" Jack asked, eyeing the big blue guy that talked like he had swallowed a couple of dictionaries. 'For cryin' out loud, not even Daniel talks like that.' He also didn't like the fact that the blue boy had managed to kiss Carter on the hand like he was some kind of English gentleman. 'Just who the hell did he think he was?' Right now, shooting the guy with a zat blast was sounding better and better.

"Of course my dear man, where are my manners?" the blue ape-man asked. "I am Dr. Henry 'Hank' McCoy, although I do occasionally go by the moniker the Beast. A bit of a joke I am forced to endure, due to my outer physical manifestation."

Major Carter's eyes lighted up at this. "The Hank McCoy?" she asked excitedly.

"The one and only," he said proudly, as he flashed a toothy grin at the assembled people.

"Sir," Sam said, turning to her superior, "Dr. McCoy is one of the world's leading minds on genetics. He also has half a dozen degrees in various other subjects. While he is no Reed Richards, he is considered one of the world's greater minds."

"You sure this is the same guy?" Jack said doubtfully, as he looked the guy over. Hell, he was still trying to figure what all the blue monkey like guy had said.

"I would be more than willing to show you my driver's license, since it is obvious you believe that my claims to my being are dubious." McCoy looked amused.

"Janet is going to be so jealous that I managed to meet you!" Carter said excitedly, her eyes glazing over in excitement.

"Hey, Carter, you sure this guy is from Earth?" Jack said. He winced inwardly at the glares that he was receiving from people on both sides. Evidently, that was not the way to say things to any of these people.

"Please." McCoy said, waving Jack's question off in a dismissive manner. "I am most definitely of this planet. At least, so the documentation of my birth says."

"Carter?"

"His birth certificate, Sir."

"Right."

"And if those are not enough for you, I happen to be giving council to the President on the mutant matters in Washington. I am, in fact, the Secretary of Mutant Affairs. Would you prefer it if I attained my treatises on the subject for you to assess?"

"Huh?"

"Um, he asked if you wanted him to get his paperwork for his work with the President." Daniel said to his friend.

"That won't be necessary," Carter assured the blue man, as she stomped on her C.O.'s foot before he could object.

"So, are we going to stand around here in the doorway looking at each other till we're sure we're all on the same side, or are we going to go ahead and go in and talk?" Dean asked sarcastically, stuffing his hands into his jacket.

"We really don't need that brand of humor right now." Mr. Kent told Dean, the young man got on his nerves, and he was afraid it was because his gallows style humor reminded him uncomfortably of the Luthors' style of joking.

"Sure thing." Dean said, while he rolled his eyes at the small-town farmer. You'd think a fellow Kansan would be better company than his moody, pain-in-the-ass brother. But no, of all the kinds they had to meet up with, it had to be a person as hard nosed as his brother and father were.

"He is right, though," Prue pointed out, while she inwardly rolled her own eyes at Mr. Kent and the older Winchester boy for the way they were still at each other's throats. She was willing to bet they didn't even realize that they were doing it, either. "Are you going to let us in?" the eldest of the three sisters asked.

"Ah, what the hell; if Chuck says so, then yer in. But ya screw things up, then I get to take ya out, and I get to tell Chuck I told you so." The man with the knives made a movement too quick to follow, and the blades disappeared from view.

Nodding, they all trooped in, and gathered around the bits of furniture that the others had managed to scrounge up.

"So...where is she?" Riley asked them impatiently. He was worried for the girl, and would like to know that she was all right. He knew that she had been near the end of her rope the last time he had seen her, but he hoped that she was doing better than he actually thought that she might be doing.

"She's talking to her blond friend. She was mentally exhausted, and needed a few minutes to unwind. When she's done talking to the man, hopefully she'll talk to us and fill us in on what's going on," Xavier explained from where he was sitting near the middle of the room.

"Spike?" Riley said in disbelief. Spike? He was the only one who had bothered to hang out with the Slayer? He opened his mouth to complain, but decided against it, since causing problems with Spike was not going to help them in their current position. If the formerly chipped vampire caused problems, he would step in; otherwise he would let this play out for now.

* * *

**Order of the Phoenix: Sunnydale Park**

Oz blinked a couple of times, as he found himself back in the Sunnydale Park. He hadn't been here in years, not even when he visited the town had he bothered to come here. It really had been a long time since he had bothered to come here, he reflected, as he cocked his head to the side and listened for any sounds that shouldn't be there. The only problem was that there was almost no sound whatsoever coming from anywhere. It was as if all of the animals of Sunnydale had gone and made a run for it with all of the people. The wolf side of him could sense Willow not too far off from here. Normally he would have headed that way, but he had to keep control, and that meant giving himself time in town before he saw her.

The werewolf breathed in deeply to calm himself, and was slightly surprised at the number of female scents he was picking up. Some of them he could easily identify, such as the sweet, herb-like scent of Willow; and the mixture of strawberries, blood and vampire dust of Buffy. There was the combination of books and tea of Giles; Xander's scent of sugar, along with sweat and blood of a person that often had to work to get what they wanted. Anya's scent was always a disturbing one, since her scent was always covered in some odd perfume or other. Then there was the fact that Anya's body smelled young, like a child. He supposed that was because that she had formerly been a demon, though the newness scent seemed to have gotten stronger than he remembered. The smell of cigarettes and leather was easy enough to remember as Spike. Then there was Dawn's scent of cinnamon and strawberry. The last scent that he recognized actually caught the werewolf off guard; it was the scent of blood, tears and vampire dust.

"Faith's back." He said to himself, as he continued to breathe in the other scents. The rest were that of girls, and two males that he didn't recognize. His lack of familiarity with the two scents meant that they weren't natives to the town, or that they were people he hadn't met before. Though one of them did tickle the back of his memory, as if there was something slightly familiar about it. There were also a few other scents that were new; they smelled of darkness and blood. Then there were two scents that were kind of new to him, one smelled like a vampire with the combination of when the Hellmouth opened. The other scent smelled human, but there was something else to it that just smelled wrong. Whoever, or whatever those were, the park had been patrolled by both sides enough that all of their scents were noticeable.

He tried to sort out the scents now, but there were so many others, that they didn't make sense. He doubted that Lupin, who looked like he wanted to run, was having any luck at understanding what he smelled. The large amount of blood that scented Sunnydale was distracting enough to a newcomer, without the need to find something.

Oz took one more sniff, caught onto the strongest Buffy scent, and decided to follow that. He didn't want to just pop up at her door and expect an invite. One, it was rude. Two, it was after sunset, so he shouldn't expect that sort of thing, and three, it meant a little bit more time away from Willow. There was also the fact that the Buffy didn't like people just coming in like that. Reminded her too much of crazy, possessed dolls, she had said one time.

"All right. Split into yer groups," Moody commanded, in his growling voice.

Oz briefly wondered how the wizard kept from getting dizzy, with the way that big blue eye of his was spinning around in his head. Ignoring the groups that they were getting into, he set his guitar and pack down. He opened his rucksack, and began pulling out the things he would need. A couple of crosses went into his belt loops for easy access, some stakes went into his other pockets that were easy to reach. He then picked up the crossbow that he had specially designed for him. He strapped the full quiver on with a belt, so that the bolts rode at his side. He saw that the big man that he noticed earlier was prepping his own gear; he had a giant club strapped at his waist, and a giant crossbow in his hands. He doubted that even Buffy could fire that thing with out some troubles. The bolts for the weapon were large as well.

The big, bushy-haired man grinned at him. "Even if me aim ain't that good, them ruddy vampires will still be dust."

The werewolf nodded in appreciation of the weapon. "Cool," he said as he tossed the bag that now mainly held holy water, clothes and guitar strings over his shoulder. Remus waved his wand at his guitar case, and the werewolf nodded his thanks as the case shrunk enough to fit into his pocket. Sniffing once more, he followed after the strongest Buffy scent.

Moody watched as the Muggle werewolf took off at a casual yet brisk pace. "You, Weasleys, take Tonks, Lupin, Delacour and Hagrid with ya. I want ya to stick with him, 'cause I want him to be alive when we make first contact. Is that understood?"

"Your concern for his well-being is just overwhelming, Mad-Eye," one of the twins joked.

"Yes, careful, or someone might think you're going soft." The other finished.

"Just go, you lot," the old man growled in annoyance. He turned to see the jealous glares some of the men were giving Bill Weasley. "Remember that they're engaged, people." Moody growled dangerously causing several of the people to blush.

Oz ignored the people following him, as he trailed Buffy's scent. The trail first led to a graveyard. He stopped in surprise as he saw the name on the stone a fight had been in front of. "Joyce Summers..." he read aloud quietly. He bowed his head for a moment, before he continued his tracking. A group had joined Buffy, and Spike and someone else had followed after them. The group of people behind him followed after him quietly. Oz finally stopped in front of a familiar looking mansion. He had only been here a couple of times, but he knew the place well. "Angel's," he said to himself, wondering why Buffy hadn't bothered to go to her house. He also wondered where all the different smells were coming from. He admired a couple of cars, as he headed up a few of the steps. "They're all there," Oz said, as he walked through and saw a couple of soldiers standing guard duty.

"Oz?" One of them said in surprise.

"Riley," The werewolf returned emotionlessly.

"I take it you got a letter, too?"

"They told me about it," Oz replied, nodding to the wizards behind him.

Riley nodded, as he looked at the group of people behind the werewolf.

"More of Buffy's family? Or are you just friends of the family?" The soldier asked curious.

"Friends of the family," Remus replied, "we're looking for Harry, Ron, and Hermione."

"They teens?"

"Yes."

"They're inside with everyone else. Right now we're waiting for Buffy to get herself together."

"What happened?" Oz asked.

"The Scoobies kicked her out of her house," Riley returned, the werewolf raised his eyebrow in surprise, but didn't say anything.

"So, are you gonna invite us in?" Charlie asked.

"Hmm? Right, sure, sorry." Riley said. "Right after I'm sure that's Oz."

"And how you going to do that?"

"What was the color of the door to your cell at the college?"

"There was no door," Oz said in a clipped tone full of warning.

"That's him," Riley said, as he gestured for him to go on in.

"We are going to have a few more come in a few minutes." Mr. Weasley said smiling at the Muggles.

"I see, well, one of you stay out here then," Riley said. "That bushy haired girl is making me nervous, the way she's talking about balance, and how the First might have something extra on its side, now that we've got all of us as well."

"Hermione," The wizards and witches all said, knowing full well who it was that was talking like that.

"Only she would know about those sorts of things."

"Yeah? Well, she was driving me up the wall." The other man said. "I don't like it when things take turns like that."

"Don't worry so much, Colonel."

"Whatever," the man muttered.

Tonks waved her wand, and a silver werewolf emerged from the tip. Oz looked questioningly at it, but didn't say anything, as the creature that the witch had produced ran off.

"And that was?"

"Me sending a message," the woman said, smiling.

"Right, of course, why didn't I think of that?" Two figures suddenly appeared in front of them with loud pops. "What the hell!"

Mad-Eye Moody, and the Muggle colonel were suddenly holding their weapons of choice on each other. Moody with his elm wood dragon heartstring wand, and Colonel Jack O'Neil with his regulation P-90. "Who are you?" Moody growled.

"What do ya mean who am I? Who are you?" Jack returned.

"Um Moody, they're friends."

"What? You sure about this Arthur?"

"Yes I'm sure." The eldest of the Weasley's said, "That means no cursing him." The two old soldiers cautiously lowered their weapons.

"Good, can we enter? I'd like to see how my students are doing." McGonagall said in her scariest no nonsense manner, which inspired fear in all her students. "Remus, you will talk to Harry, I will talk to Miss Granger. Molly, Arthur, I think that the two of you can talk with your son."

"Now, hold on there, Minerva," Remus said, grabbing her by the arm. "Can you honestly say that you wouldn't have done the same thing? Or that Dumbledore wouldn't have? If Dumbledore had known of this, he would have been one of the first people to follow Harry, and offer his aid. You know that. When we understand what it is that we are facing, then we can gripe at them, is that understood? In fact, you can gripe at them after we get back to England, and not before," he said, looking at his former professor and Mrs. Weasley, who both nodded reluctantly at the older werewolf. "Right. Now, we need to work together, not try and cut each other off."

"You think they did the right thing?" McGonagall asked curiously.

"My feelings are mixed on this subject. On the one hand, I'm furious that they took off like they did; but on the other hand, I am extremely proud of them for being willing to risk so much, for not only each other but for the world."

"Teacher's pets," the Weasley twins coughed, grinning.

Remus ignored the two of them, knowing that they meant it in the best of ways. "Now then, shall we go in?"

The group nodded, as they all filed in. They saw the young people that they were looking for talking to another group of youngsters. The unknown teens were all dressed in black leather armor, which had a giant X symbol on the chest in various colors.

"They, at least, appear to be dressed fer fighting," Moody said approvingly, as they approached the trio.

"Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, Professors," Harry said in greeting, as the group finally reached them.

"Told ya, lad, I was never yer professor," Moody said.

"Well Harry, I must admit you led us on quite a chase." McGonagall said, glaring at the three teens. "We will discuss this when we get back home; for now, though, it seems that we are involved in the coming war between the forces of darkness and light, whether we want to be or not."

"Isn't it what the Order of the Phoenix is for, though?" Hermione asked of her favorite teacher. "With a name like that, I would presume that it has been instrumental in battling other Dark wizarding groups in the past."

"Yes," McGonagall admitted, "but that does not mean that we should rush headlong into a fight we may not win."

"Eh, where's the fun in that?" a nearby man said.

"Sometimes it helps to think things out," she replied tartly.

"Whatever," the man said as he walked by.

"Besides, Professor, what's the point of beating Voldemort if the world is plunged into hell?" Ron asked smugly, his eyes twinkling much like the twins' did.

"That doesn't mean I have to like it. Besides, those are fights that are supposed to be fought by champions, Mr. Weasley," snapped Minerva.

"Congratulations on your promotion to champion then," Harry replied sarcastically. "The pay is awful, and you risk your life all the time. But the reward of waking up to a world that is safe should be enough, at least so all the people say."

McGonagall didn't have anything to say to that. There were a few snorts of amusement from the various people that were standing around the room and could hear the conversation.

Mrs. Weasley finally stormed over to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and engulfed them in a large hug.

* * *

**Bedroom**

"You know love, as much as I enjoy just holding you like this, you are needed out there," Spike murmured, nodding towards the closed door that led back into the main room.

"I know," Buffy said grimly, as she lay snuggled against the vampire.

"Oh, and just so you know, there are a whole lot more people out there than when we came in here," Spike said warningly. "So when you go out there, you'll be needing to look at least like you're ready for what's coming."

"And if I'm not ready?" The Slayer looked up at Spike, pain and anger warring with hope in her expression.

"Then we still got the fact that you're a great actress, and BS can stand for more than just your name, Slayer," the vampire smirked.

Buffy took a deep breath, and nodded decisively. "Right, let's get this done, then."

The blond vampire nodded as he got up and put his jacket back on. He carefully turned the collar up, so that it rubbed against his neck. Spike then adjusted the shoulders, so that the coat was now ready to billow behind him when he walked out. He looked like he was the Big Bad again.

"Showtime," the vampire said, smirking at the Slayer, right before the door opened.

* * *

The Slayer and ensouled vampire walked into the room. The young woman's eyes opened in surprise as she saw the number of people that were standing in what had once passed as Angel's sitting room.

Before anyone could say anything, three sticks with glowing ends were suddenly pointed at Spike. "Hold it right there, Malfoy! Make a wrong move and I'll curse you to oblivion," a kid with dark hair, green eyes and a lightning bolt scar threatened.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" the vampire asked cautiously, as the trio of hurt, teary-eyed, wand-wielding kids confronted him. It was if he reminded them of something, or someone. "Now, take it easy there, kids. I dunno who this Malfoy person is, but I promise you, I ain't him. Fact is, I ain't been to the mother land in a few years now." He really didn't want to have to hurt these kids if he could help it, especially not in front of the Slayer.

The girl seemed to have a few brain cells still working, and she slowly lowered her wand. "Come on, lads," Spike said encouragingly, trying to remain calm. "Let's not do anything that you'll regret."

"Shut up, Malfoy!" the redhead snarled.

"Ron, that's not Malfoy," the girl said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder and giving it a brief squeeze.

The redhead reluctantly lowered his wand. "You sure?" he asked, disappointment covering his face. "You sure he's not the ferret? Or maybe his dad?" he added, almost hopefully.

"Yes, now put the wand away. The both of you," she added, her eyes narrowing, as she finally noticed that their raven-haired friend had yet to lower his own wand.

The young man held the wand on the vampire, but his hand was now shaking as he aimed.

"Easy there mate, just point the magic stick down so nobody gets hurt," Spike said softly.

"I should have saved him." Harry said, not even seeing the vampire anymore, as the wand finally pointed downwards, the younger man not willing to let go of his weapon. He fell to his knees in misery.

The blonde vampire was unsure what to do, as the boy that had just been threatening him fell apart right in front of him.

"He told me he felt safe because I was there," the teen continued dully. "I failed him, though. Why does everyone I care for have to die?"

Buffy knelt down by the boy and hugged him gently. "It's because we were chosen by Fate, or the Powers, or simply drew a bad hand in the game of life, or whatever it is that you want to believe in. But we've got to keep going. 'Cause we have to, and there is no one else strong enough to do it."

"But I'm not strong," Harry protested weakly.

"That's a bunch of shite, mate." Ron Weasley said knowingly, as he knelt down by his best friend. The red head ignored the gasps and the hissed, "Ron!" He didn't even acknowledge the chuckles of his brothers. He was too focused right now to care what other people were saying about him.

The Slayer scooted back, so that the two boys could talk. The third member of their group quickly joined them.

Hermione glared into the pain-filled emerald green eyes. "Harry James Potter, you listen to me, and you listen good. You're one of the strongest people that I've ever met Harry. If you weren't strong, then you'd be dead by now. Sirius and Dumbledore believed in that too; that's why they were taken from you, because they gave you the confidence to use that strength. Now we have to learn to fight without them here to help you."

"She's right mate." The red head said nodding. "I mean its Hermione, of course she's right." The boys gazed at each other for a moment, occasionally breaking eye contact to look at the third part of their team. Ron finally broke out into a weak grin. "Though you are still a lousy chess player." The boys chuckled weakly at the joke.

Their other friend then engulfed the two in a bone-crushing hug. "Why do you two have to be so stupid?" she asked them.

"She's still nutters, mate." The boys just held onto their protesting friend, obviously not wanting her any other way.

Buffy looked at the three hollowly with a bit longing in her eyes. "They're right, you know. Like I said, we have to be strong for those that can't be. This is our fate. It's our duty, and our curse," the Slayer said, knowing that the teen would understand what she meant.

Harry nodded in understanding.

Buffy smiled tiredly, as she was helped back up by a familiar set of strong arms. She grinned at Riley, as the two shared a brief hug, which surprised the black ops soldier, but he returned it anyway. The Slayer released her ex, and finally looked around the room. She was shocked at the number of people that were in this room. There were people she knew, and didn't know all over the place. Farm boys, city boys, soldiers and people she didn't know what to call were all quietly watching, as she slowly came out of her surprise at seeing them all. Her eyes widened, as she saw Prue and her sisters standing there and not fighting. 'Had one of the Apocalypses affected them somehow?'

Were all of these people here members of her family?

"Commander Summers." A man in green clothes, and dark graying hair said. "I am pleased to turn command of all military personnel in Sunnydale over to you."

"What? Commander? There's gotta be some kind of mistake there. You oh so don't want me in command. Me and command are not mixing things."

Riley was amused by the rabbit-in-the-headlights look on Buffy's face, and had to work extra hard to hide the smirk on his face.

The man ignored her protests. "You have a command of forty soldiers. All of them are ready to obey your orders. Then, of course, there's the rest of your family, who simply insisted on coming along to help you out as well," he said, waving his hand at the various people gathered in the room. "Give us a target, and we will take it out," he assured her.

"Looks like you don't need to worry about what to do next after all," Spike said smugly. "I just wish that I had a camera for when them lot of bloody traitors see all this."

"We already talked about this, Spike."

"Doesn't mean I can't still be pissed about it, though, Slayer," the vampire argued back at her.

"I think some of us had our cameras running at the time," Jack mentioned innocently.

"That's great, mate," Spike smiled widely at the soldier.

Buffy protested, "Look, Spike, I am as much to blame as they are, not all of my orders were right, and I was being a bit of a pain as well with the way I was acting."

"Doesn't change the fact that you were right, and they were wrong, about the vineyard, though," the bleached blond vampire snorted.

"Both sides have good points; let's please leave it at that. All right?" she pleaded.

"Fine," the vampire said, his shoulders sagging in defeat. "Now, how about we get the introductions going? 'Cause saying 'hey you' to a bunch of people ain't exactly going to make our work easy, luv. Besides, it looks like not all of us are exactly human," said Spike, eyeing the various people gathered around the room.

Buffy thought that was a good idea, but noticed that several of the people looked a bit distrustful of the soldiers at this suggestion. "Let me guess, some of you guys have had less than fun experiences with the military, and aren't sure that you can trust them...right?"

Buffy couldn't help but smirk, as over half of the room nodded. "Why is it, the government always has to piss our kind off?" she asked Riley.

"'Cause they hate the fact that there's someone better at fixing a mess than they are," Riley replied a cheeky grin pointed at her.

Jack frowned at Riley, but couldn't find much wrong with his assessment.

"Okay, so here's what we are going to do then," Prue said. "We tell each other who we are, and how we are related to Buffy here, and it all stays in this room. Sound like a good plan, Buffy?"

"I'm game." The Slayer responded. "Think you guys can go by those rules?" The Slayer asked looking pointedly at the soldiers.

"Hey, you're the boss here." O'Neill said, holding out his hands in mock surrender. "What you say goes."

"Great. I love it when a plan comes together," Spike said. "Slayer, why don't you go first? You can give 'em the whole 'Chosen One' bit."

"Thanks for volunteering me," the Slayer said sarcastically.

"Anything to help, luv," smirked Spike, leaning against a convenient wall.

"Wait a minute," Buffy said slowly, looking at Prue suspiciously. "What do you mean, 'related to me'?"

"Um, well, I think each group has at least one person who is somehow related to you," the witch said. She grinned suddenly. "You know, when you send mail to people, occasionally they *do* answer."

"Mail?" The Slayer questioned dumbly.

"Yeah," Prue nodded. She pulled the short cover letter from her pocket and showed it to Buffy.

The blonde shook her head in amazement. "Those letters, I wrote them when I first began understanding what was going on. The Turok-Han kicked my ass earlier that night, and I woke up hurting all over," Buffy said softly, as she remembered when she had written the letters to all of her family. She closed her eyes as she remembered.

* * *

**Flashback**

_She looked up from the food in the microwave and noticed her mom's address book lying under a small pile of papers. She calmly picked up the book, along with the yummy smelling pepperoni pizza, and went back to her room. She sat down at the desk, and looked over the various names in the book. Some of these people she had never heard of, but they were actually supposed to be distant cousins. And some were friends that her mom had made on one of her business trips or from her college days. It was kind of crazy realizing. that her mom had known so many different people, but never told her about them. 'Kind of makes me wish I had done that family tree project for school,' she thought to herself. Looking at this had given her the very smallest of ideas. An idea she knew that Giles and the others would hate, but an idea all the same. The only question was, should she? 'What the hell,' she thought. Maybe she could give the world a fighting chance. Even if it was a really, really slim chance._

_She began writing letters of warning to each of the people that were there, and just went down the line, telling them her story, and a little of her friends' stories (they had the right to decide for themselves if they wanted people to know about them). When she was done, there would be at least a handful of people that might hopefully understand what was going on.' That is, if they don't try and send me to a mental hospital,' she thought wryly, a small grin on her face. "Oh, ouch," she whined as the grin tugged at some of the scratches she had. It took her nearly all night, but she had a nice big wad of letters ready to be sent, along with several copies of her version of what had been happening. Fortunately, Anya had insisted on buying a copy machine to take care of business receipts, and amazingly wasn't charging them to use it. 'And to think, I nearly failed English,' she thought as she stuffed one of the envelopes. She would take the letters by the post office tomorrow; it was still open, so that meant she might be okay. Content, that even should she fail, there would be others to continue the fight that she had dedicated her life to. Even though she knew she would never really win the fight, it had been fun while it lasted. She nodded in satisfaction as the last stamp was in place. After she had drunk enough water to get the stamp taste out of her mouth, she went back to bed for a few hours of rest._

**End flashback**

* * *

"But they disappeared before I could decide what to do with them."

"You mean...you didn't mail them to us?" Prue was bewildered, and the other family members looked much the same.

The blonde Slayer shook her head in the negative. "No; I haven't seen those things since I wrote them. In fact, I practically forgot about them, with everything that's been happening."

"Maybe, but you sounded like you needed help with everything that was going on in these letters," one of the farmer looking people said.

"You mean to tell me, you all came here to help because of those letters?" Buffy asked in disbelief. And she watched as several people began to pull their own little notes out of their various pockets to display them to her. She recognized her signature at the bottom of each and every one of those letters.

"And I thought I had a weird family with Peaches and Dru," Spike mumbled in awe at this turn of events.

"But why would you risk your lives to help me?" the Slayer asked. "This is my mess, so I should be the one to fix it," she muttered, looking down.

"Because you're family, kiddo," the old soldier guy told her. "And in this family, we take care of our own; isn't that right?" he asked, looking around at the people standing there. "Besides, saving the world isn't just your thing; we all play our own little parts in doing it. I'm beginning to think that it's a family thing," he added, with a crooked grin.

"All right, I guess I go first then," Buffy mumbled, trying to get her head around the fact that her family was gathered in this room with their closest friends. "Just remember, that there's the no telling rule here." The Slayer took a deep breath before she began. "Well, since everyone here I'm guessing is family, or somehow connected to family, I'm guessing that you've all gotten a chance to look at my letters, that explain about me being the Slayer and all of that stuff, right? So you all know the whole 'one girl chosen to protect the world' bit, and I don't have to explain all that, right?"

Buffy was pleased to get affirmative nods. She gave Spike a bit of a smile, as he scowled at her cheating her way out of giving her story. "Great, then all I'll be doing is explaining what little I do know about the First, who is the current Big Bad, and explain its abilities, and what exactly it is that it's trying to do." She then spent the next hour explaining everything that she thought might be of interest to them about what had happened in Sunnydale over the years; bringing up anything and everything which might have some connection to the current problem.

"...So that's my story," Buffy concluded, taking a sip from the glass of water Spike had thoughtfully brought her. "I know most of you already knew most of that, but hey! That's done, so who's next? And remember, I want the short versions. I only talked as long as I did because I was giving you an idea of what we were all getting into, and you could, maybe, have one person do the talking for your groups? It might save on time," Buffy suggested hopefully.

A man stood up and looked at the people in the room hesitantly before he began to speak. "I am Connor McLeod, of the Clan McLeod, and I, along with most of my companions, am Immortal. We do not grow old; we do not die; we just are. Only one thing can kill us, and that is to remove our heads."

Several people grimaced at this, but didn't say anything as the man pointed to his friends.

"This is my Clansman and former student Duncan McLeod. Next to him is his student Richard Ryan-" "-call me Richie," the young Immortal said, grinning- "-and next to him is Amanda Devereaux; and, hiding there in the corner is Methos, the oldest of our kind," Connor continued. Indicating the older man who sat in the room's only comfortable chair, he went on, "Then Joe Dawson, here, is the one charged with recording all that happens in the life of Duncan. All Immortals have Watcher like him."

"Watchers? Any relation with my kind?" The Slayer asked, as she eyed the older man curiously. He didn't look much like any kind of tweed-wearing, tea-sipping, rulebook-spouting Watcher to her.

"We don't know," Joe said scowling, obviously disliking not knowing this little bit of information.

"Keep looking, we might find something of use in that. Especially since the British version got blown up. There anything else you want to add?"

McLeod looked hesitant, but nodded. "I was the godfather to one of your ancestors long ago, and I pledged to check on your family from time to time which is why I came running. Unfortunately, the past few years have been a bit busy for me or I would have been here sooner. Had I known what was happening to you, I would have come and either taken you away from this, or trained you for your duty."

The Slayer was a bit startled by the fact that she trusted the sincerity in his voice. "Thanks. Who's next?"

"I believe we are. I'm afraid that are bit of the family isn't as impressive as them, or as some of the others appear to be," an old man said rising from one of the few chairs in the room. "We're the Dukes, from Hazzard County. We may not have any flashy abilities like them with their swords and stuff, but we'll do what we can to help."

"You guys may not have abilities like some of the people here do, but the way one of you took care of that one demon, I think that you're more than capable of watching after yourselves." Phoebe Halliwell said.

"Yes, well, Luke here always has been a bit of an overachiever," the old man said proudly, as he began introducing his part of the family. "While Bo here, has always been the show off. Daisy here is the sweet one, though." The woman smiled, as she waved to her cousin. "Cooter Davenport, and Enos Strate over here, they may not be Dukes by name, but when it comes right down to it, they're as good as family." The two men smiled at this.

"Welcome to Sunny Hell, mate."

Jesse nodded toward the vampire, as he sat down.

Jack stood up, and gave a brief smile at the girl. "Well, I'm Jack O'Neill, your great uncle. In case you hadn't noticed yet, I'm a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. I'm one of the leaders of the military forces that you are the overall commander of. The only person who currently has more pull with our troops than you is the President of the United States."

"What are your people's experiences in dealing with things that really don't make a lick of sense, Colonel?"

"Part of our forces are used to dealing with things that are out there. The other half, I understand, are used to fighting your vampires and demons on a global scale, while you held the line here."

"Yeah and you can see what a great job I've been doing," the Slayer said bitterly. "The First Evil is practically knocking on the door. In fact, it's starting to remind me of those door to door missionaries that refuse to leave you alone."

"Anyways, these are my team. They're the best at what they do. SG-1 might even give you a run for your money on the number of times we've saved the world. We got Major Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c. Bra'tac over there is actually just a close friend of ours, and he was Teal'c's old instructor. Trust me, despite how old he looks, he's both older, and spryer than you'd think."

"When you say out there, do you mean out there, out there?" Cooter asked curiously. The Kents looked up at this question with interest. The Colonel just nodded.

"I guess we're next," the bushy haired girl said, as she smoothed out the front of her cloak. "My name is Hermione Granger, and these are my friends Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley. I'm the only one here that is related to you from this group though." she said, as she gestured to the people behind her.

There were a few snickers at this, which Hermione ignored.

"I am a witch, and the boys are wizards. We live in a world that is alongside the Muggle; I mean regular world, a world that is made up entirely of magic users. We use wands and everything," she said, as she pulled out a slender piece of wood. "We are currently at war with a dark wizard. Ron and Harry were the only ones that I expected to come and help, but the others decided to chase after us."

"Well, at least they came in good company," the Slayer remarked, as her eyes landed on one member of the group. "How you doing, Oz?" she asked, as she walked over and gave Oz a brief hug. "I'm glad you're here," Buffy told her old wolfy friend. She noticed that a kind of old guy seemed surprised that she was willing to grab onto the werewolf like she had.

"Willow?" the werewolf inquired.

"My house, with the others," was the terse reply.

Spike snorted at this, but didn't say anything about it either. Buffy was just glad that she could still speak fluent Oz after all this time.

The young werewolf looked at the Slayer questioningly; there was something she wasn't saying. He hoped it wasn't anything too bad.

Hermione was surprised that the adults had managed to find someone that knew her cousin in the amount of time they had. "Um, yes," she said, obviously flustered. "Well, next to your friend are our friends Remus Lupin, and Tonks. Next to them is Mad-Eye Moody." The man scowled at the crowd as his magical eye roamed around his head, but he didn't say anything. "Next to him is Hagrid, one of our closest friends, despite how we treat him sometimes." The half-giant smiled broadly at this. "Professor, I mean Headmistress McGonagall is next." The girl winced at this. "And then there are Ron's family the Weasleys." The redheads and single blonde nodded in greeting to the large crowd. "Are there any others?"

"Aye, what we could gather of the Order of the Phoenix is here as well," Moody said in his gruff voice. "There's about thirty of us when all is said and done," the former Auror said.

"I guess we're next then," Jonathan Kent said from where he was standing next to his family. "I'm Jonathan Kent; this is my wife, Martha, and our son, Clark. We are from Kansas, and like the Dukes, we are farmers."

"Anything unique, or out of the ordinary about your family?"

"Yeah, me," Clark said nervously, as he took a protective step forward, while he faced the rest of his family. He knew his grandfather could never really know about him, but these people at least could understand. "I'm from another planet."

SG-1 looked slightly more interested at this bit of information.

"So, you and the soldiers should have a lot in common then," remarked Buffy.

"Not really. I was just a baby when I was placed on Earth, and from everything we've been able to figure out, my entire planet was destroyed."

"Sorry to hear that," the blonde Slayer said sympathetically.

"Thanks."

"What di

your people call themselves?" Daniel asked, leaning forward curiously. This wasn't the first time that aliens had made their way to Earth. For all they knew the boy before them could be a missing link to the Ancients, or one of the old races like the Furlings.

"Kryptonian," the boy said uncomfortably. "My people called themselves Kryptonians, of the planet Krypton."

"Carter?"

"I've never heard of a planet called that, sir."

"Teal'c? Bra'tac?"

The two men conversed for a moment in Goa'uld, before Teal'c answered for then both. "I have not heard of any planet named that either, O'Neill. It could be though, that it is somehow connected with the Asgard, or maybe the Nox; it will take some looking into, though, O'Neill."

"Wait a minute. Clark Kent, from Kansas?" Daniel asked excitedly.

"Yes, sir; that's me." Clark was bewildered by Daniel's sudden interest.

"Not Smallville, Kansas, by any chance?"

"Yes, sir."

"You're the kid that found those Indian caves, then. I knew you looked familiar." Daniel was now ecstatic. "Those caves are supposed to be one of the rarest archaeological finds in the U.S. right now. The number of people that have tried to translate some of the pictures in there is amazing. Yet none of them have managed to translate any of the pictures yet. In fact, an associate of mine was actually driven crazy by the caves."

"Err, yeah, that's me." Clark admitted. "I was four wheeling with my friend at the time, and I kind of fell into the entrance." There were a few chuckles at this. "Anyway," Clark said, "my abilities include super strength, super speed, invulnerability, and heat vision." Clark held his breath, waiting to see what kind of reaction he would get from that bit of news.

"You have all of those abilities?" Buffy asked slowly.

"So, can you read what the writings in the cave say?" asked Daniel intently.

"Err yeah, me and one other person can," the teen said in surprise. No one looked on him like he was some type of monster, and Dr. Jackson didn't even seem to care about what he could do.

"Daniel, you can ask your rock questions later. Right now, this other stuff is a bit more important at the moment," Colonel O'Neill interjected.

"But Jack," began Daniel.

"Ah-ah," the Colonel said, holding his finger up at his friend. "I said later, and I meant later."

The archaeologist scowled at his friend, as if he had denied him a rare treat, but reluctantly nodded anyway.

"So, what other family secrets need to be brought to light?" Jack asked, as he rubbed his hands in anticipation.

Prue rolled her eyes; this guy was enjoying this way too much, in her opinion. She also wouldn't mind getting to know a bit more about the caves. She had read everything on them, and the one thing that kept popping back up was the mention of some type of key that always disappeared after a few days of examination. Oh well, they really did have more important things to do.

"Well, I'm Prue Halliwell, and these two are my sisters. The loud one is Phoebe, and the quiet one is Piper. We are from a branch of the family that are witches, as well. The only difference that I know of is that we don't require wands to work our magic. Ours is more incantations and potions, than waving a stick around," the dark-haired witch said. "My sisters and I are a prophesied group of witches who hold a lot of power, and are supposed to kick demon butt. We are the Charmed Ones."

"You know prophecy is such a pain," Buffy commented, with a small grin.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Piper said, "do you have any idea how difficult it is to keep a job when you have to go and vanquish a demon? And let's not even go into finding out that your boyfriend suddenly wants to kill you."

"I know the feeling," Buffy said dryly, sending warning looks at Spike, who was snickering.

Several other people nodded in agreement. "It must run in your family, Slayer," Spike said.

Buffy ignored the comment about her relationship skills. "So, do you have any individual skills?"

"Well, I can move things; similar to telekinesis. Piper can freeze things, and Phoebe here gets visions of when bad things are about to happen."

"If it weren't for the potions bit, I would change to your style of magic." Ron said, a dreamy look on his face. "Being able to freeze things with a wave of your hand would be so wicked."

"Instead, you have your wand. Get used to it," Harry told his friend.

"Easy there, you two," Mr. Weasley told the two boys warningly.

"Sorry dad, just imagining freezing Snape, then pointing him at a wall to run into."

The wand wielders nodded in understanding.

"Scottie, how about you go next?" suggested the Slayer.

"Fine, squirt. I'm Scott Summers, and over there is my younger brother Alex." The blond man waved in greeting. Scott then gestured to the whole group of people sporting X-Uniforms. "And the rest of us here are the X-Men. We are people blessed with abilities beyond that of other people. Unlike those of you who were enhanced by magic, though, we are merely the next step in human evolution."

"Please tell me yer not going to give them the whole 'mutants and humans can live in peace' speech right now, One-Eye," the man with long sideburns asked gruffly.

"I guess that is a bit of overkill at the moment," the leader of the team agreed. "Perhaps the Professor should take over from here. Professor?"

"Thank you, Scott," Xavier said, as he rolled to the front of the room. "I will try not to bore you with details. Basically, the difference between us and others is that our bodies are more advanced, for lack of a better word, and nature, while she is deciding on what path to take it, has given a small percent of humans a number of different possibilities. I run a school where people with powers and abilities can come and learn how to use these abilities without fear of persecution because of their gifts. We teach them how to use their powers to the greater good of humanity and we teach the regular school program as well. This particular group is made up of some my best-trained people," the man said proudly. "Though some are not actually trained by me. The Summers brothers, or Cyclops and Havok, are two of the more powerful energy manipulators I've ever seen. Cyclops converts solar energy into optic blasts from his eyes, while Havok absorbs cosmic energies, and pushes the power from his hands."

"They are Hok'Taur, then?" Bra'tac asked, as he looked at the assembled group of mutants.

"What?" Buffy wasn't the only one confused.

"Advanced humans," Daniel explained.

"Then yes we are." Xavier said, waiting to see what the response to what they were was. Mutants were still fairly new to the world, despite the amount of publicity they were getting lately.

"Cool," was the response of several of the people.

Xavier couldn't help but be happy at this response. Peace was possible, he thought to himself.

"Cosmic energy?" Carter said in disbelief. "But that type of energy is full of radiation, and such things! If he were to release that energy, he could recreate some of the worst radioactive dilemmas the world has ever seen."

"I can focus the energy beams." Havok explained. "There is no danger except to the people that I hit."

"But how are you alive when you release that kind of energy? The kick of shooting energy, which travels at the speed of light, should have knocked you through about a dozen different walls," exclaimed Sam, shaking her head.

"I don't have any kind of feedback actually. I just point and shoot." Havok told the woman.

"But that's..." Sam couldn't quite believe what she was hearing.

"A naturally-occurring resistance to the powerful energies emitted by his body," Hank McCoy explained to his fellow scientist.

"Well then, what kind of cosmic energies does he shoot then?" Sam queried. "Is it a form of primary cosmic power like galactic, solar, or magnetosphere, or is it some type of secondary type of cosmic energy that he shoots."

"Carter, like Daniel you can ask your questions later. Right now, I want to focus on this," Jack told his second. "Don't argue, either; just say 'Yes, Sir'."

Carter sighed. "Yes, sir."

"Good, now continue."

"Thank you." Xavier said a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Next in line are Storm and Iceman, the team elementals. They are among some of the most powerful in the world. Iceman still has a lot of work, though, till he reaches his full potential."

The teen had the grace to look slightly embarrassed.

"Wolverine is next; he has a super powered healing factor that can heal injuries in a matter of moments, and all of his senses are enhanced to the point of an animal of some type. He also has a set of adamantium claws. Wolverine?"

The feral mutant nodded at the Professor, and popped a set of claws for a moment for all of the people to see. The fighters all looked jealously at the instant weapons that the man carried.

"But adamantium is supposed to be too strong to shape except in its raw form, and even then it has to be kept at a certain temperature or it will harden almost instantly," Carter said slowly.

"That's true; Logan's claws were forced upon him," said Xavier gravely.

"But who would do that?" Carter asked, appalled someone would do that to a person.

"The government," Wolverine growled, as he sheathed his claws with a snikt.

"Easy there, Logan," Xavier said soothingly, as his 'girls' grabbed onto their mentor and friend. "The next one would be Dr. McCoy, whose particular mutation would fall under the category of a Bestial; that is someone with animalistic features. He also has enhanced strength and agility. We have naturally dubbed him the Beast."

The blue scientist waved a cheerful, blue-furred hand at everyone.

"The next person would be Nightcrawler." The German mutant bowed to the group. "Nightcrawler is also in the Bestial category; he has an agility greater than Beast's, and has the ability to stick to surfaces much like a spider would. He has the power to teleport, as well; a most useful ability, since he can take a passenger."

"Long as you don't mind the smell," Nightcrawler grinned, showing sharp, white teeth.

"The next two have abilities that are nearly the opposite of each other. Colossus" – the tall, broad-shouldered young man with the black crew cut bowed slightly – "is capable of turning his entire body into a form of organic steel, which enhances both his endurance and strength. He also doesn't need to breathe while in this form, though he does it more out of reflex than anything else. Shadowcat, here, has an extremely rare gift, though; she is capable of turning her body intangible to the point that she can actually walk on air molecules."

"Don't say anything, Carter," Jack hissed at his teammate. "La-ter," he said, stringing the word out in annoyance.

"Next is Rogue; her ability is another unique one, as she has the ability to absorb another person's memories, powers, and life force through skin-to-skin contact." The teen with a white streak scrunched down in her seat. "Then last, there is myself: I am a telepath."

"The most powerful telepath in the world," Iceman said. He was sitting beside Rogue, comforting her, while Logan held onto her shoulder.

"Thank you, Bobby."

"No problem, Professor."

"Hmm, guess we're next," a blonde, blue-eyed man said from where he was leaning against the wall. "Unfortunately, as far as we know, we aren't related to anyone here. We're demon hunters by trade, though; you may or may not have heard of the Winchester brothers."

"Dean and Sam Winchester. Sons of John Winchester," Moody said from where he was standing. "Muggle demon hunters."

"Right, guess you have. Anyways, the reason we're here is that Sammy boy here got a vision of this place, and we followed what we could figure from it. After that, we teamed up with some of the others and now we're here."

"Anyone else? Good, cause this is a lot of people," said Buffy wearily.

"True, but look on the bright side, Slayer; you got yourself a brand new army to fight the First with. And this one ain't likely to go and stab ya in the back," Spike smirked.

"Maybe, Spike, but I can't lead a group this big!" The Slayer was wringing her hands nervously at what she was facing.

"What do you mean, Slayer? You're bloody good at what you do. Forget what that lot said," Spike told the nervous young woman.

"But I don't understand the kind of complex strategy that will keep people alive in these kinds of situations," the Slayer argued. "I do better with small groups, where I can keep my eyes on everyone." She turned away from the vampire, and looked at the soldier team. "Uncle Jack, or Colonel O'Neill, or whatever the hell I'm supposed to call you? If I tell you and the Finns where to hit someplace, can you come up with a plan to do that?" she asked cautiously, unsure how this whole chain of command thing would work.

"Yeah, sure, no problem, kid," Jack assured the girl, impressed that the girl knew when to let other people do it. He knew the task could be daunting to someone new to this, but if she was half the on-the-spot strategist that Riley said she was, then getting her into Officers' School would help, even if all she ever did was use that training here in Sunnyhell. A few of the others would be useful additions to the SGC as well, but a lot of them were needed elsewhere in order to keep the planet safe from stuff other than ego driven Snakes.

The Slayer nodded tiredly. "All right, I fully intend to sleep on this, but at the moment the teams will be like this. The Kent family will team up with the X-Men; Dukes, you think you can work with the soldiers?"

Jesse Duke nodded; without any powers, they were a bit more vulnerable than some of the others.

"Uncle McLeod, you and your people are the scouts. You guys practically ooze sneaky quiet, people, so you help everyone out."

The groups nodded.

"And you, Charming sisters; team up with the wand users all right?"

The sisters nodded. "Though you're going to have to tell me when you started talking again. Now then, does everyone have a place to sleep?"

"If they don't, we can set someplace up at the building that we commandeered earlier today," offered Riley.

"Good, you guys do that. Me, I'm going to get my first full night's sleep in I don't know how long before I deal with all of this, and I still have to take care of something on my own," she said in a slight daze.

"Here kid, take this. If you need backup, someone will be there," Jack said, as he tossed her a radio headset, which she snatched out of the air.

"Thanks," she said, as she retreated back to the room she had staked out for herself.

"I do believe that we overwhelmed her with information," Teal'c said calmly.

"Gee, you think?" Phoebe smiled.

"She'll be all right," Spike assured the remaining family, as he made to follow after Buffy. "She's a hell of a lot stronger than she likes to think she is. And, your just being here is enough to lend her the strength that she needs."

"Spike, treat her right, or I will finish what they couldn't," Riley growled at the vampire.

"Whatever you say, Captain Cardboard," the vampire tossed over his shoulder, completely indifferent to the threat.

The mutants and wizards politely declined the offers of joining the soldiers at their base, saying they would stay nearby instead. Waving their wands, the teachers expanded some of the rooms and sent for the rest of the Order.

The X-men nodded their thanks to the wizards, as they took their cots to a private section, so that they could talk if they needed to over what they had learned.

Warehouse: Bad Guys HQ

The First smiled, as it sensed some of the last members of Its army in this dimension approaching. Its current form chuckled, as It felt the darkness that was Seth move closer to It. Looking out a window, the entity saw the vans that were making there way across the town toward them. The group of vans stopped in front of the warehouse, and Seth led his people out. They numbered the same as those idiotic wizards who had finally come.

Seth and his people were late arrivals, because of the wizard people's unwillingness to move faster. But the rules of balance had to be observed, even in fights such as this, which is why it had waited. Now Seth and his troops would be late, and slightly tired due to them. The Goa'uld bowed to the First Evil in a form of submission, which enraged the small creature inside the host body, but it knew better than to bother lashing out at the First. The Goa'uld knew that the First was incapable of being hurt by anything that he could up with, despite his advanced technology. Besides, the First was the Goa'uld's only hope of ever returning to the stars where he belonged.

"I am pleased that you could make it here, Seth," the smirking form of Buffy Summers said, as she looked at the Goa'uld with contempt. When the First had first approached the parasite, it had appeared in the last host body that Seth had seen Ra use. Since then, the worm had learned its place, and the First had resumed using the form of the Slayer who, with the help of her friends, had made all of this darkness possible.

"I am pleased to be here, my lady. Have no fears, when the time comes I shall lead my soldiers and win this victory for you and have my revenge on these Tau'ri that would dare to try and challenge my supremacy." The Goa'uld's eyes began glowing with power, as it made its promise to his master.

"Cute parlor trick, but that doesn't really impress me. So, how about you keep your eyes to yourself; all right?" The First asked.

"Of course."

"Good, now find a spot for your people before you report back here," The First ordered the Goa'uld. "I have a few more preparations to make before it is time to cast the die for this fight."

The Goa'uld nodded, and led its troops out.

The First then turned to one of the silent guards that stood there waiting for its orders. "Genin! Bring me the Wiccan and the various head warriors. It is time to collect on the debt the girl owes me."

The demonic ninja bowed low to its current leader, as it disappeared into the shadows. It reappeared a few moments later, followed by the girl witch who hungered for the power that magic gave you if used in darkness. "Amy."

The witch nodded. "The ninja said you needed something?" the woman asked, curious.

The First enjoyed playing with the girl. She, like most of the others, didn't even know what was really going on; yet as long as she had power, she cared not. Most of them were so blinded by their needs for vengeance and power that they didn't realize just what it was that they were preparing to help do. Voldemort understood, as did a couple of the Immortals, Ogun, and the Hand. The others were merely pawns in this game that was being played. The wand-waving wizard had proved exceptionally useful, when he had, with a wave of his wand, placed those few that had grown suspicious under the Imperius Curse, and made sure that they were firmly committed to the cause.

"Yes, it is time to fulfill your part of our bargain, and bring forth what I asked for. It is past time to add the last piece to my army."

The witch nodded, as she watched the other figures walk into the room. Voldemort was trailed by his three advisors, while Juggernaut merely found a place to stand by himself. Ogun and the Jonin master of the Hand dropped silently to the ground from the rafters, while three large warlocks shimmered into view, and the group of Immortals walked through the door.

Amy waved her hands over a pentagram that had been drawn earlier for just this occasion. The witch gasped, as she felt the power of the portal. Taking the blood sample that she had, she began muttering in Latin. The blood popped out of the vial, and began circling the middle of the pentagram as it searched for a match. A bright flash of white light flooded the room, and a figure suddenly stood there before the First and its followers. The witch fell down a little wobbly as the surge of power died down.

The figure in the pentagram shook his head for a moment, and then looked around the room in surprise. "Who are all of you?" He asked, scowling at the people that surrounded him.

"Don't worry about that for now." The First said, walking up to the boy.

"Do you have any idea what you interrupted?" The figure asked, as it glared angrily at the First.

"I could care less right now. Actually, I have a bit of a proposition for you." The First said, as it stalked toward the figure. This form had some decent sex appeal that easily captivated the boy in front of it. "I can give you a chance to prove which of your personalities is the greater being."

The boy smirked at this. "What? You're going to let me get a shot at Mr. Goody two shoes?"

"Yes, since you're in another dimension, we can do that."

"All I have to do is take care of him when the time is right then?"

"Yes."

The person smirked. "Lady, you got yourself a deal."

"Good. These are the other people that will be fighting the various other people that will be in the fight, but your other self is up to you to handle."

"Long as they don't get in my way, I don't think we'll have any problems with that," the young figure said, lowering his sunglasses down over his face. "Got anything to eat around here?"

"There is some food in one of the fridges. You just be ready for the fight that will be coming."

"Gotcha," the teen said arrogantly. "It's not like the loser has a chance to take me on. I know how to use my powers; the idiot doesn't have a clue what he's capable of."

The teen smirked, as he went to check the food supply.

"Now that we are all gathered here," The First said, as Seth finally returned with two of his guards carrying staff weapons. "We can finally begin; the Slayer's family and friends have finally gathered together, and the time has now come to finish them off. I will now hear your plans on how to defeat them."

* * *

**BTVS: Casa de Scoobie**

Giles sighed, as he sat down in his chair. He looked at the pile of computer printouts that littered the table in front of him. Willow had managed to acquire the files easily enough, or so she said. She had seemed to be troubled by some of the difficulty with some of the protections that some of the files had on them. She wasn't sure, but she said she was afraid that someone had actually managed to trace her signal on one of her forays. Giles understood that that was possible, but doubted it. Willow was a genius; when it came to the bloody machines, no one could touch her. Sipping from the cup of tea he had, he read from the overview on one part of the family. This report had been added onto over the years, having notes added onto the file by various people. He saw symbols for American Military, DEA, Revenuers, FBI, CIA, Historical Preservation Societies, and even NASCAR. There were even a few reports from other governments in there. These were not people that a person messed with lightly it seemed. He looked and found a brief summary of the family.

Family is extremely able, creative, and dangerous when provoked. Proceed in dealings with extreme caution. Best way to avoid problems is to stay off of their turf. Best way to ensure temporary cooperation is to threaten the revocation of parole terms. Susceptible to use of patriotic card to acquire their assistance in missions. DO NOT THREATEN FAMILY! Ignore all comments made by local law enforcement. All of them are dead shots with shotguns, small arms and bows and arrows.

Note: Arrows sometimes carry explosive charge.

Note: Do not get into car chase with any members of the family all members are top drivers.

Service Notes: Older of the boys is a trained marine, mechanic and boxer.

Known allies: Cooter Davenport, Cletus Hogg, Enos Strate, and Lulu Hogg.

Giles polished his glasses, before he reached for the next file. Surely none of the others would be as bad as that file, he assured himself. He smiled, as he popped open the next file, there was nothing unexpected in this one. He frowned briefly, as he looked at the name on the file. There was something that was oddly familiar at that last name. Setting the report down, he got one of his reference books out, and began searching for anything that might be helpful. He finally found what it was that he was searching for and felt dread climb up his gut. According to this book the name had changed over the years, but it was possible that the name was the line of the Warren family. The Watcher's eyes widened in shock as he confirmed it. This meant that Buffy was connected to the Warren line. Why, this meant that Buffy's magical potential could be far greater than he had ever thought possible. His memory flashed back to all of the times that Buffy had ever used magic. Yes a number of the signs for great potential had all been there, but she had never tried anything beyond the basics. She had never been overly confident in magical skills, preferring to rely on him, Willow, and Tara. And now, because of his blindness the Charmed Ones were here to help Buffy; not them, but Buffy.

Swallowing nervously, the Watcher picked up the next file, and almost sagged with relief at the normalcy to it. According to this, the family members in this file were normal people. There were a few comments about the boy, but it didn't answer any of the questions that he had. Chief among them was how the young man had been able to catch Faith's fists, and then swing her in the air and slam onto the hood of a car. There was nothing here that explained that, though it seemed like he had placed a number of people in a nearby psychiatric ward.

Connor Macleod had an odd file as well; it appeared that he had a bit of a habit of cutting the heads off of his opponents. The authorities had tried to pin him for these crimes, but there was never more than circumstantial evidence to point at him. The man was also questioned when he was in a car wreck that somehow killed a former police consultant, but left him unharmed.

The last file that he had was on the soldiers. Willow had told him she would look into Buffy's other family later, but sincerely doubted that anyone else would bother coming here. For some reason he didn't put much trust in that, since none of them had thought that any would come in the first place. Dawn had mentioned someone by the name of Scott, but that had been all the family that the girl could think of. Sighing, the watcher opened the file, and cursed at the list of names that were associated with this Colonel O'Neill.

There was no way that a man that traveled with people such as Daniel Jackson without having some need of the man's vast knowledge of languages. The man had once been considered for a spot in the council when he had suddenly disappeared. It was speculated that despite his amusing claims of aliens, that some type of demon had probably found some use for him. Now a few years later, he found out instead of being dead, the archaeologist was a member of a top-secret military organization; top-secret at such a level that most of the people here had blacked out files. The level these people were hidden at was very high up, if Willow had been unable to clear the files up. All that he was able to see was names and past accomplishments, and even all of them weren't readable. What had a man like Dr. Jackson gotten himself into? More importantly though, what had Buffy gotten them into? And when the dust finally settled, what would happen to all of them?

Buffy had never spoken of her family

The Watcher retrieved the bottle of good Scotch that he kept hidden in his desk drawer, placed it in front of him, and, eschewing a glass, took a healthy slug directly from the bottle.

"Is it that bad, G-man?" Xander asked curiously, as he collapsed into a chair beside the older man.

Giles merely slid the files and reference book over, and let the boy read.

The young man scowled at the letters for a moment after he was done reading, before he caught the bottle up and took a swig of his own. "To stupidity," he said, taking another pull.

"I'll drink to that." The watcher said, grabbing the bottle back and taking another pull.

* * *

So was it worth the wait?


	20. Vineyard Warriors

Vineyard Warriors

The Teaxaswookie groans, as he looks at the figure standing over him. Dean Winchester grins cockily at the writer, as he levels one of his numerous guns at him. "All right man, its really quite simple. Either you go and do the whole I do not own yadda, yadda, yadda, ya. I don't shoot you in the leg. Seems simple enough don't you think?"

"You're such a considerate person."

"Yeah ain't I?" The eldest of the Winchester brothers says, as he cocks the gun at the Texan.

"Fine. I do not own any of the universes in this story. If you want a complete list look in my earlier chapter disclaimers. Happy now you gun toting."

"Hey, watch your mouth you never know who might be reading this stuff." Dean chastised.

"Get stuffed."

"Real original there man. You sure this stories any good? Cause your comebacks are pretty weak."

* * *

**BTVS/Buffy: Angels Mansion**

Buffy's eyes opened, as she noticed the dry smell of the sun coming up. Dawn was here, not the Dawn she wished for, but she would have to content herself with what she had she mused. The Slayer stretched, and heard her joints pop painfully. That's what she got for allowing herself to actually get totally relaxed. All of the piled on stress had been felt, as it partially left her. She wasn't sure why she felt so much calmer about what was going on, maybe because the people here were people that chose to be and weren't people that had been forced to come together like the potentials. She jotted down a quick note to Spike, telling him what it was that she was going to do. She wasn't going to be responsible for the death of the vampire she reasoned, and if he went against Caleb, he would be dust she was sure of that. She opened the blinds on the window about halfway, so that when the sun did come up, the light would be shining right on the door. That should slow the vampire down so he wouldn't try coming after her. She then slipped out the window, and jumped into the bushes that grew along the edges of the mansion. They were starting get a bit out of control after all the years of neglect, she noted she would have to call Angel about that. She crawled out of the bushes, and found herself staring at a pair of booted feet. Looking up in slight embarrassment, she saw that it was Scottie's friend, the guy with the long sideburns and metal claws.

"Slayer." The man grunted softly, as she climbed to her feet.

"Um Wolf right?" She asked hesitantly.

The man rolled his eyes in annoyance at this. "Its Wolverine darlin."

"Oh sorry." She said sheepishly. "I've never been real good with names. Then add the emotional roller coaster that was running in Buffyland last night, I kinda missed more than usual." She admitted to the mutant.

"Fergit it." The man said, waving off the apologies. "At least you admit yer faults unlike two certain cousins of yers I might just happen to be able to mention."

"Ah, that's just them being to proud and hard headed to see anyone else's point of view." She said waving his complaints about her cousins off. "Well I gotta go now, it was nice talking to you."

"I take it yer off ta do that solo mission that ya were talking about earlier." Wolverine asked, as he pulled a cigar from an inside pocket of his jacket. He ignored the disgusted look the small blonde was giving him, as he used one of his claws to cut the end off, then lighted it with a lighter he had found in the house.

"Yeah."

"Want some company?"

"No." She shook her head. "I can't risk you. I have to deal with this particular problem on my own."

"Instead, you'll make me deal with yer cousins for letting ya walk off without any backup of yer own?" The mutant questioned. "In yer dreams kiddo. Sides, if I get hurt I heal pretty fast." He assured her

"You're coming whether I want you to or not aren't you?" Buffy asked, her shoulders slumping slightly

"Yep."

"Fine, but at least let me pretend to be in charge."

"No problem." The two of them walked in silence through the town. They stopped near the vineyard, and watched it across the street, hidden from view by the brush that surrounded the next building.

"See anything?"

"There's a soldiers outpost about 80 yards to the left of us, and the ugly guys are all over that place. Looks like they're really working on guard duty. The place has probably got around a dozen different guards out at a time." The man's arm shot up in the air and scraping of metal on metal was heard as his claws came out slicing through several branches. "There a reason yer hiding in there bub?" The mutant asked, as Teal'c was now visible to them. The tall Jaffa didn't say anything, but did raise an eyebrow in greeting. Wolverine smirked at the blonde Slayer. "Looks like I ain't the only family friend that wants to make sure that you make it back darlin."

"Great." The young woman said as she rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Is there anyone else out there who decided to join us?" She asked sarcastically, to her surprise and annoyance two more figures stepped out of the shadows.

Master Bra'Tak. Teal'c greeted inkling his head.

"Teal'c." The older man said scowling, his cloak held close to him. "Did you really think that I would not be prepared when O'Neil's kin would try this?"

"I did not." The big man stated calmly. "I trusted you to make your way here on your own."

"How did you know I was going to be here? My solo mission could have been anywhere."

"Honor demanded that you return here and avenge yourself, and your friend who now hides his pain in anger." Teal'c said calmly.

"That and you told us you had a secret mission tah do, so we just all put one and one together." Wolverine said.

"And you?" She asked turning to the last person.

Methos looked at her knowingly. Buffy shivered slightly, the cool way he looked at her made her feel like she was being mentally undressed. Another part of her felt like she was being sized up for the easiest way to kill. She wasn't really sure which of those bothered her more. "Its simple really my dear." The man started, sounding slightly arrogant to her. "While you may not be related to the Highlanders by blood there are certain family traits that you seem to share with them. One of the most notable ones is that you don't want those you care for getting hurt. Your even willing to sacrifice yourself to stop the enemy."

The man's cool eyed gaze hardened. "Are you ready this time?" He asked her.

"I have to be." The Slayer replied returning the stare. "But you guys aren't going in your dealing with the guards that surround the place. If I get thrown through the door or if I'm gone more than fifteen minutes then you come in."

"Buffy Summers, do you not still have the radio that Colonel O'Neil gave you?"

"Yeah I do. What's the point?" She asked, as she pulled the headset out of her jacket pocket.

"Why do you not simply radio for assistance if you are in need?"

"I'll try." The Slayer said nodding, "but there are no promises. Don't suppose you have something that's not supposed to rest on your head."

"Indeed I do." Teal'c said as he pulled his own radio from its shoulder pouch. May I enquire why you do not wish for a headset?" He asked her, as they traded radios.

"I tend to get hit in the head and face a lot." She explained. "And Caleb poked the eye out of the last person that he got his hands on, I'd rather not give him something to stab me with."

"Understood."

"So can you guys deal with all the goons around the area?"

"If they can't, I can Slayer." Wolverine said confidently.

"We shall do our part Buffy Summers." Bra'Tac promised, Teal'c nodded in agreement with his teacher.

"Lets get this over with." Methos said giving the girl one last look over.

"Loser buys brews." Wolverine said. The other men nodded in agreement.

The five shadowy heroes slipped their way across the street to do their parts to deal with the shock troops of the First.

* * *

**SG1 Base Camp**

"Sir." A soldier said saluting, as he turned to look at the Colonel who walked in with the Finns and Major Carter.

"Lieutenant." The man said returning the salute with a half wave. "What have you got for us?"

"Sir. The observation teams report movement at both places.

"What!"

"Yes sir."

"Where are they heading?" Commander Samantha Finn asked.

"As far as we can tell, they're moving towards the mansion that you were at the other night, they'll be there in a matter of minutes."

"So, they're curious about what's going on huh?"

"Yes sir, the team that they sent out is probably made up of the ones that know Commander Summers the best. The team is made up of the watcher, the witch, the sister, and the carpenter. At their current rate they'll reach the mansion where the others are staying at in a matter of minutes."

Riley leaned over the shoulder of the comm. officer. "Radio Buffy, I mean Commander Summers, tell her that she has inbound scoobies."

"How do they know where to look for her anyways? Is that blonde vampire working for them?" Jack asked, wondering how the four people seemed to know exactly where to go to find the Slayer.

Riley sighed. "Much as I wish he wasn't, Spike's far to loyal to Buffy to do something like that. Willow probably decided to use a tracking spell of some kind."

"That, or because of the emotional significance the place holds to Commander Summers they decided to try that place first." Commander Finn speculated.

"Ah that's another bit of news actually sir." The officer said. "It seems Commander Summers left the mansion earlier with a change of tactics in mind."

Riley smirked at this. "How so." The soldier asked.

"She's leading a small team in a new assault on the vineyard

"Who's she got with her, the magic brigade?" O'Neil asked

"No sir. She has Teal'c, Master Bra'Tac and two of the civilians with her."

"Anything else?"

"The other slayer is prepping the potentials to take out that armory they found out about from that Bringer of theirs."

"What do you think? Should we send some babysitters after them just in case?" Jack asked his counterpart. "Cause I'll be damned if I let a bunch of kids die cause they got some really crappy intel."

"Yes." She answered without hesitating. "It would be a good way to not only judge their abilities, but we could get a better lay of the land."

"Sounds like a plan. Scramble an SGC team and a HSTC team to follow them after they leave. Their primary objective is to follow and observe. See if you can't get a couple of the mutants to join in on babysitting duty as well. Then I want you to get two more teams to head for the observation post and reinforce Commander Summers and her team, if they need it. That team will probably be coming out hot." (Hostile Sub Terrestrial Control)

"Yes sir." The man said, as he began contacting the two teams. "Um sirs?"

"Yes?"

"Um, the Finns team is next on the duty roster for HSTC teams. Unless you need me to move on down to the next group."

"No thank you lieutenant. I'd rather do that than twiddle my fingers and wait before I have to debrief Commander Summers." Jack glared at the small of her back, as Samantha Finn walked off to gear up. "Make sure the observation teams have the rest of the Jaffa with them." Jack grumbled. "They'll never let us hear the end of it if Bra'Tac gets hurt and they weren't there."

**

* * *

**

Angel's Mansion

Giles cursed, as he lay in the brush. Hopefully none of Buffy's family or their friends would notice them. The Watcher pulled out a pair of binoculars, and focused them on the crowd around Angel's old place. He supposed it shouldn't surprise him that his old Slayer had retreated here when they had all turned on her. Though he would have personally preferred it had she chosen a different place like the Bronze, or even that hole that the Initiative had based out of. Spike's crypt would be better than this place though to the Watcher. The number of people that were around the place was disturbing to the old watcher as well. He knew that this group only represented one part of the forces that had come to join his old Slayer. It was disturbing at the amount of people willing to gather up to the banner of family. Buffy had managed to get her hands on an army in the few hours that they had kicked her out, and she now had enough force to challenge and maybe even win against the powers that the First had brought against them.

"This is most disturbing." The Watcher commented, as he watched a young girl who couldn't be more than fifteen slice a ninja katana through the air, as she sparred against what appeared to be some type of demon. If it wasn't for the large metal cross that it wore, and the rosary beads that he had watched him toying around with earlier, he would have sworn that he was looking at some type of hell spawn. The demon matched a number of the physical characteristics of hell spawn demons, but those were the direct descendents of the devil itself. Ruler of the ultimate hell dimension! Surely Buffy wouldn't get aide from the likes of this creature. He turned back to watching the girl and he was uncomfortably aware that this young girl easily surpassed any of the potentials in his care, as he watched the girl moved with fluidity that he'd only seen Buffy exhibit rarely. The watcher turned to see what else it was that had been brought into this war. He saw the Charmed ones, and he thanked whatever guardian Kennedy had that the witch who had held the watcher-trained potential had not killed her. Insulting someone of the Warren line to one of the three charmed ones, could you get any more stupid? Well he supposed you could kick the relative out of their house mere hours before the Charmed ones showed up. The three were talking to the other witches dressed in robes.

"So, what kind of army exactly has Buff got here?" Xander asked, a hint of a smile in his voice. "Cause I gotta say, that a bunch of people in dresses hardly inspires fear in me. Although they may be what makes the bringers so scary, that or it's the whole not having eyes and worshipping evil thing."

"Xan, now's so not the time." Dawn told the carpenter.

"You guys are always spoiling my fun."

"Yes, well that may be, it is also generally a bad idea to anger a large group of combat ready Wizards and Witches. And if you hadn't noticed, they have a part giant with them as well. And with the difficulty Willow is currently having with her magic, insulting them might not be the best of ideas." Giles suddenly began swearing in Greek, Babylonian and Sumerian, as his grip on the binoculars tightened.

"Um eww, and is that even possible?" Dawn asked Giles who continued swearing. "Hey old man, impressionable teenage mind over here remember?"

"Sorry." Giles said reining himself in. "But bloody hell! That's Harry Potter! The Boy who Lived! I believe they were calling him the Chosen One when I was last in England. He's the savior of the European magical world." Giles pointed to a teen with dark hair and glasses about Dawns age. The young man was currently practicing some basic throws with some other teens under the watch of one of the Warren line women and a man with a visor.

"Sorry Giles I've never heard of him before in all of the dusty books that I've read for you. Maybe you can ask for his autograph. How about you Will's? You ever heard of him?" The witch didn't answer, as she pointed with a shaky finger at a figure that had just joined the others. "Old guy kind of reminds me of you Giles." The young man then focused on the new arrival. "Oh." Xander said, as he lowered his binoculars and looked sympathetically at the witch.

"Yeah Oh." The witch agreed weakly with her friend. "When Buffy calls for help she really pulls out all the stops."

Curious, Giles looked down to see what had set the witch and carpenter off, he had to admit he was surprised. There sitting calm as can be, and looking right at them was Oz. The werewolf looked at them with a combination of longing and disappointment.

"We're upwind." Xander noted to the others. "Which means that we can't even kid ourselves into thinking that he doesn't know we're here."

"Yes." Giles said, "I suppose now would be a good time to return. Buffy obviously isn't here, she would either be training with these people or making some kind of plan instead she' nowhere around, so she's obviously not here." The once proud scooby gang scurried back into the shadows of the town they had protected for so many years.

Mad-Eye Moody removed the hood of his invisibility cloak after a few minutes, the two eldest Weasley brothers removed the spells hiding them. The three men silently rolled up the extendable ears that they carried with them. "They seemed a little lost." Charlie noted.

"Aye lad. Evidentaly they didn't expect her to get help beyond the vampire and were content to think of her as a former player. But now she's an even bigger player than before."

"That may be, but who has a better grasp on the situation?" Bill asked, as he scratched his cheek just under the werewolf scars.

"I think they may both be right my boy. Getting kicked out may have woken the Slayer up, as much as all of the people coming to help her woke them up."

**

* * *

**

Vineyard

_Bra'tac_

Bra'tac slipped noiselessly behind one of the guards and swung his staff hard. He heard the satisfying crunch as his target fell. Twirling the staff, he thrust it over his shoulder, and slammed it into the face of another that was trying to sneak up on him. Spinning, he slammed the end into the warrior's throat, cutting off his air supply. These were the best that the First Evil could produce? It was almost embarrassing how easily he was dealing with them.

* * *

_Wolverine_

Wolverine smirked as he looked down below him where three of the blind idiots were standing guard. He let a bit of ash fall from his cigar. The three looked up at him. "You boys looking for something?" he asked, as he jumped down. Unsheathing his claws, he slashed at the two on the edges as he came down. As he landed, he planted his feet in the face of the one in the middle. He felt the man's - or what had been a man's - face cave in, along with parts of his skull, spine, and maybe one of his legs, as his adamantium-laced bones fell on top of the Bringer. The mutant got up and was interrupted from admiring his work as he felt something strike him in the back. Wolverine hissed, pulling the item out.

Logan turned to look at one of the Bringers, who, incredibly, was still alive and kicking - though he was bleeding like crazy across his face. The Bringer knelt down and retrieved the knife from the other one the clawed mutant had slashed. "Yer kidding, right?" Wolverine asked, as he held his claws up in the light.

The Bringer didn't say anything as it began twirling the two blades in its hands, like it was putting on a show. It then ran at Wolverine and slammed both of the blades downward.

Wolverine caught the blades in between his claws. He bared his teeth at the pain; then with a twist of his wrists the blades went flying. Pulling his arms back, he impaled the Bringer through his/its shoulders; then, with another twist and yank he opened the Bringer up in front of him. "Idiot," Wolverine grumbled, sheathing his claws as his hands and back finished healing up.

_

* * *

_

Teal'c

A knife flew through the air, and slammed into the chest of a Bringer; the being fell silently as it died.

Teal'c stepped out of the shadows and bent down to pull his knife back out. He never got the chance, as the other Bringer tackled him to the ground. With the ease of over sixty years of practice, Teal'c tossed the sightless being off him. The two scrambled to their feet.

Teal'c was now unarmed, aside from his noisier zat'nik'tel, and a Tau'ri pistol. The large Jaffa narrowed his eyes. His orders from Commander Summers were to do this silently; so, silently it would be. He let the Bringer charge at him, and then let the creature's arm slide under his own as he stepped smoothly to one side. The former First Prime of Apophis then tightened his grip, and broke the arm holding the weapon. When he heard the knife fall, he slammed his elbow around into the Bringer's face, stunning it. While it was dazed, he brought his hands onto the Bringer's head, and with a quick, sharp twist, the Jaffa broke the neck of the unfortunate creature. "May death bring you freedom," Teal'c said as he lay the dead Bringer down next to his large knife. Teal'c then leant over and retrieved his knife from the chest of the other as he began searching for more Bringers.

_

* * *

_

Buffy

The Slayer looked from side to side; it looked like her K.I.S.S. plan was actually working this time. The last time, she'd been going in blind; this time, she at least had an idea of what it was that she was facing.

Buffy slammed her foot into the chin of one Bringer, and kicked the other one into the door that led down to the lower level where the wine was stored. She watched with some amusement as the door broke and the Bringer continued falling. Now would have been a good time for Andrew's camera. Oh well, it was time to face the First and Caleb. 'Who knows? I might even come out of this alive.' she thought to herself, as she made sure the radio she was wearing was set to on. Like Spike had said earlier – Showtime!

_

* * *

_

Methos

The Immortal sliced his sword through the neck of the Bringer. Methos curled his mouth in contempt; he never had understood why the First had these idiots as its foot soldiers. They were nearly useless as fighters; they were only good for the use of ceremonies, really, and just barely at that.

Looking around, Methos entered the building. No girl, despite her connections, told Death how to wage war! He would do the work that had to be done. Slipping past the various doors, he found what he presumed were the resting quarters for the disposables. Pushing the door open, he smirked as he saw that the room was empty of alert beings.

Moving swiftly, he began thrusting his knife into the chest of each of the Bringers that were resting with a cold efficiency that would have rivaled the great Angelus and Spike. Soon, the guards that had just gotten off duty were all lying dead in their bunks. The Immortal frowned as he began counting the number of beds. While some of them now held bodies, there were still far too many places for Bringers to sleep than what was left - and even with the way they had torn into the things, there should still have been more than what was here. So where were the rest of the sightless scum, if they weren't here for him to kill?

"Don't worry, Death; you'll get your few thousand gallons of blood soon enough," The First said, as It came and stood beside one of the Four Horsemen.

"Can I help you?" Methos sneered.

"Just thought I'd ask if you had thought about joining the winning side. You don't honestly think that the little girl is going to win, do you?"

"I owe the Highlander."

"Forget them, for now, Death," the blonde figure of Buffy said seductively. "You are a survivor, and a survivor doesn't make stupid mistakes." The First smirked. "Perhaps you want to know what would be in it for you?"

Adam replied dryly, "The thought had crossed my mind. By the way, shouldn't you be watching the girl tear your boy apart?"

A snort of disgust escaped the First's incorporeal nostrils.

"He decided to handle her without my help, and I have to admit, it's just as well, considering what a fool she was making out of Caleb. Sometimes I wonder why I picked him for My arm, and when I remember, I didn't. He was the only one with the strength to hold even the fraction of My power I've given him," The First mused, crinkling the brow of her borrowed appearance.

"So what would be in it for me?"

The First seemed to think for a moment. "A number of the girls currently in the town will, most likely, lose what power they do have, if parts of their group were killed." It looked coyly at Methos, tilting Its head to one side. "Perhaps there are more than the blonde that interest you? I'm sure we could come up with some kind of arrangement." The First sighed, and looked downward in annoyance. "I gotta go, seems like My 'boy', as you put it, is about to get himself turned into a shish kabob if I don't reign him in. Think about My offer," It said as It disappeared.

Methos chuckled. The First must need him badly indeed, to be offering him some of those girls. Usually, the only good Champion was a dead Champion, as far as The First was concerned. Though he had to admit, it had given a very tempting offer; and that was just the first round of negotiations, something to grab his attention.

He slipped back out, and found the others just in time, as the radio the big guy wore came to life.

The voice of the real Buffy Summers crackled through the speaker. "Call for backup, and send them after Faith; she's in trouble! Some kind of explosion!"

The Slayer had almost sisterly concern for the girl that had taken her place. That was interesting, thought Methos, and may be something that he could use against them later.

"Understood, Buffy Summers," the big guy said, already reaching for the radio. "Colonel O'Neill, we need you to rescue the other Slayer. Her life is evidently in danger."

"Thanks for the update, Teal'c, we'll deal with it," replied O'Neill.

The group watched a small blur, as it rushed by them.

Blinking, something he rarely seemed to do, Teal'c turned back to the radio. "We will join up with whoever is watching after the other Slayer, as Slayer Commander seems to be heading after her," he intoned, with classic Jaffa understatement.

"Right. O'Neill out."

The group took after the small blonde blur, which was trying to get to her fellow Slayer in time.

* * *

**Outside of Armory**

"You heard those orders, people! They need help! Let's get in there, now!" Commander Samantha Finn directed her two teams of troops, and the group of civilians that had decided to tag along with them.

Nodding, the soldiers started to lead the group toward the entrance, when an explosion from inside sent rubble tumbling down, blocking the entrance to the large building.

The Army commander cursed to herself, as they were now blocked off from the dark haired Slayer and the group of Potentials that she had with her when they went in there. And, of course, her orders were to help them. A nice, supposedly easy recon mission had just up and gone FUBAR on them. The worst part about it, though, was that there was nothing that she could do about it.

"Move your soldiers, Commander," the chocolate-skinned woman with white hair ordered, interrupting Samantha in her mental berating of herself, and the way she had done things.

Commander Finn nodded. She remembered that this woman was supposed to be an Elemental of some kind. Maybe she could make a fireball or something, to blow the wall in?

"You heard the lady! She snarled at her people. "Pull back!" The soldiers quickly complied with the order. "Now what?" She asked curious what would happen next.

"Havok."

The younger Summers brother stepped forward. The blonde man clenched his fists, and pointed one of his fists at the rubble that was blocking the entrance, and let loose a beam of yellow and white energy that blew through the rubble and beyond. The soldiers flinched uncomfortably, as the mutant lowered his hand; some of them even fingered their weapons nervously as they eyed the mutant.

"Havok. You and I will remain out here." Storm told her teammate

The people standing near the entrance were nearly run over by a blonde blur, which was determined to reach her sister Slayer in time. "Go!" Commander Finn told the others. "Are you waiting for Commander Summers to give you all an invite?" She asked before she charged past them. The other soldiers quickly followed after their leaders who were followed by two of Buffy's team.

Methos and Bra'tac joined the others that had decided to wait outside, both of them huffing and puffing with exertion. "Had I been but 60 years younger I would have been able to keep up with them." Bra'tac said gasping for breath. "Age is both a terrible and wonderful thing all at once." The older Jaffa said, as he leaned against his staff weapon tiredly.

The two mutants nodded, as they kept watch for anything that might be going on. "I can not help but feel like we are missing something of importance." The oldest of the Immortals said, as he finally looked up. "Something that could play a big part in what is to come later on."

"I to sense that not all is as it seems." Storm said as she watched the sky as if it could give her the answers to her questions. But then what in all of this mess is what it seems? I have yet to figure out what is wrong yet though. If you do realize it, I hope that you will share it with me."

"I'll see what I can do for you." Methos told the mutant.

"Thank you."

* * *

**Inside Armory**

The two teams and their allies followed after the trio of heroes, each armed with a weapon that was more or less their symbol. They came to a halt, as they saw that the Slayer was fighting a group of what they could only presume were the super vampires they had been hearing so much about. The things had yellow skin, and bat like ears with deformed faces, that were more grotesque than a normal vampires game face. They looked as powerful as the Master had been, if the physical descriptions they had of the old long dead vampire were correct. These vampires were maybe even stronger than the thousand year old vampire had been.

"Hold your fire!" Commander Finn ordered. Commander Summers was engaging these vampires, and she was moving around to close and fast around the vampires for them to be sure that she would not be hit by accident. The soldiers were forced to watch, as the vampires and Slayer fought it out. They were on one side, the Potentials were on the other, waiting and watching the outcome of this fight. After a few moments, the vampires were gone leaving the blonde Slayer to walk through the dust clouds that were there instead. Samantha Finn shivered slightly at the display of power that had just been used as the Slayer had killed the group of vampires. This woman was truly a legend in the making, and would be talked of long after most of them were gone.

"Lets get them out of here." The blonde said, as she grabbed onto the other Slayer who was barely conscious. Slinging the taller woman over her shoulders, despite her weak protests she began walking towards the entrance.

"Get to it!" Commander Finn ordered, shaking her head to clear out of her thoughts.

The group took the wounded out, leaving behind only a handful of people. "All right Colossus, do yer thing." Wolverine ordered as he leaned against the wall and waited. The large Russian teen nodded, as his body began to grow another foot and his skin took on a metallic silver sheen. The young man then charged at the wall of rubble the Potentials had crawled through. The pipes and concrete that had blocked the way were easily pushed aside, as the mutant teen charged through the mess. Moving quickly, the group searched for bodies, and found ten girls. Only two of them were still alive, though they were unconscious and bleeding heavily. A dark skinned man with a baldhead and a gold earring knelt down beside the girls. The man drew his wand, and began muttering something. A beam of light shot out of his wand, and somehow caused the bleeding to stop. Turning to the other potential he repeated the words, and stopped her bleeding as well.

"Good job." Wolverine complimented both the wizard and the Russian teen. "Colossus take point. I'll bring up the rear."

"Da."

"I've got them." Kingsly assured the mutant, as he conjured a pair of stretchers beneath the two girls. He then levitated them with a swish and flick.

"Good job," Wolverine said, "let's go." He gestured to the exit. The group left, and came up just as several of the wizards popped into view. A woman was forcing foul smelling drinks down a number of the girl's throats, muttering how none of them should be out here. A red head, which Wolverine recognized was checking the kids for the extent of their damage. The Slayer was sitting beside her replacement, while she waited for the girl to wake up. The mutant sighed after getting banged like she had; the girl would probably be out for a few hours. She waited, as they were each treated despite the protests of some of the girls who obviously had their doubts about trusting them, despite the fact that they had just pulled their fat out of the fire. The others just looked embarrassed or ashamed about kicking their boss out, and were wisely keeping their traps shut.

"And how about you were you injured? The nurse asked, as she looked at the bloodstains on his uniform.

"Sure, I got hacked into a couple of times." Wolverine said shrugging it off. "But I've already healed up."

"Hmmph I will be the judge of that." The woman said as several of the girls were given bits of what looked like garbage and disappeared. "Not even a vampire heals as fast as you are describing how you heal."

"You might want to back off. He can heal from any injury a person gives him." The Slayer said, after the dark haired girl had been sent away.

"I."

"Are not qualified to tell him how his powers work." The Slayer said, as she walked over to them since the last of her charges had disappeared. "Wolverine at best needs to change his clothes after he got blood on them. Now, continue checking on people, but the Immortals the Jaffa and Wolverine are off limits unless I say so." She added with a steely glare.

"Now see here. I don't know who you think you are." The witch said, spluttering in surprise at being questioned, and now ordered not to check on someone.

The blonde smirked at the woman. "I'm the Slayer, and you are in my town, so you play by my rules. If you want we can get you a hospital set, up but that would mean that you would have to be the one that stays at base while the soldiers make a M.A.S.H hospital."

"A what?" The woman asked in confusion.

"A M.A.S.H hospital." The girl said. "My mom used to love that show."

"And what does that stand for? I suppose it's a Muggle word."

The young woman scrunched up her nose in thought. "It stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital." Riley said, as he came to stand beside her. "And I hope we don't need anything that big. Besides, with my luck Spike would be the one to play Hawk Eye."

"Yeah, then you'd have to play Burns." The Slayer returned cheekily, her sarcastic mask going up automatically.

"No thanks." Riley said grinning. "By the way nice new toy you got there." He said nodding to the scythe she held.

"Yep, I got to play King Arthur with it if you can believe it." Buffy said, as she looked at the weapon.

"With you I believe it." The soldier assured her.

"Is everyone where they can get back to base? We have to get me caught up with what we have, and I need to see what we can do."

"Of course Buffy, we'll be ready for you at the base." Riley said he looked at some of the glares he was getting. "Hey it'll be easier to decide how we're going to this there than at Angel's mansion." He defended.

"I'll have a leader or someone like that from each group be there to, so that we can do this without having to repeat ourselves a dozen times."

"Understood, you realize though, that your running off and doing things without help is going to be happening a lot less now that you're in command."

"I don't know, that's why I already have a great support team already set up. That way when I can't tell the soldiers what to do people like you can do it."

"Thanks I think." Riley muttered, as he hugged his wife who had come over to see her husband talking about t.v shows with the company commander.

"Your welcome." The Slayer said sweetly, as she went to go and collect the people that she would need for the upcoming meeting. Hey nurse lady get with your boss and you can get them to tell me what I should do and I'll consider it. The witch just humphed, as she disappeared with a loud crack.


	21. War Council

**War Council**

**BTVS/Casa de Scooby.**

Buffy briskly walked up to the door of her house, and without hesitating walked in. She ignored the girls that were gaping at her in shock, and found the scoobies sitting around the table and looking rather depressed. She walked in and leaned against the counter and waited for them to acknowledge her presence there. 'Other than going nearly vampire pale that is.' The Slayer thought with a bit of dark amusement.

"Buffy." Giles finally said, a few minutes later after an uncomfortable silence in where the four of them were staring at the Slayer.

"Giles." The blonde said neutrally. The others looked at each other nervously, and swallowed as they finally really looked at the straight faced Slayer. The blonde woman had traded in the clothes that she had been wearing earlier for a black leather uniform with X's on it, she also wore a black equipment vest like the soldiers wore. Tucked away in various pouches, they could just make out things like a radio and other basic military gear, and a combat knife strapped to her waist. The Slayer had actually surprised her ex by remembering where all of the gear had gone on the pouches. On her back was slung the Slayer Scythe that she had taken from the stone.

"Hey Buff, long time no see." Xander said warily.

Buffy smiled lightly, but otherwise didn't respond to the weak greeting. "How long till Faith is up and able to think clearly?"

"According to the note that was with her, she should be back to 100 efficiency in another hour or so." Giles answered the Slayer. "I figure we'll wait a bit after that before she can be really considered back at full strength though."

"Fine, in an hour then I want you and Faith to be holding onto this." Buffy said ignoring the Watcher's suggestion, as she tossed a wooden stake onto the table where it bounced a couple of times before it landed with it's point was pointed at Giles. "Just you and Faith Giles. No one else." She ordered.

"And just what is that?" Willow asked curiously. The witch could feel the foreign magic on the stake.

"Well Will's off hand I'd say it's a stake." Xander teased. "You know those wooden pointy things that we like vampires to have heart to hearts with."

Everyone rolled their eyes at this. "Its actually a stake with a magical transporter spell in it." The Slayer said, saying the last part loud enough so that Andrew who had been listening in to the conversation suddenly jetted from the doorway to the table where he could examine the stake. Giles quickly pocketed the stake then kicked Andrew out of the room.

"That was low." Dawn told her sister. "We have to spend the next hour with him trying to get at that now."

Buffy ignored her sister for now, they could deal with their problems later but she had bigger things to worry about than how they got along. She gave Giles a piercing look. "Just you and Faith, Giles. No. One. Else." She repeated, hoping she made herself clear enough for them all to understand.

"What!" Xander looked shocked and annoyed at this. "Why not us? We've been here forever!" He said pointing to Willow and himself.

The Slayer glared at her old friend, she knew there was more to his disappointment than he and Willow had been here first. She knew Xander enough to know that he had been hoping to rub it in the faces of her family and friends that she had accepted them back, that was why she had wanted Faith and Giles. Faith had told her she wasn't going to unconditionally kiss up to her, and Giles might know something that could be useful. She needed them because Faith was now the leader of the Potentials, and it would be better if they worked together than against each other. "This is for heads only Xander, we don't need you there right now." Buffy said trying to be patient. "You can ask Faith and Giles when they get back."

"Don't you mean we can ask Giles?"

"That's up to you guys, but remember that you did make her your leader, so your kind of stuck with whatever command structure you got with her." Buffy said pointedly.

"So, were you going tell us Oz was here?" Giles tried, needing something to diffuse the tension between the Slayer and her friend

"No I wasn't."

"What?" Giles was surprised; this was not the kind of answer he was expecting from the Slayer.

"One, if he wants to talk to you that is his thing, I won't get in his way. Two, Willow you know what happens when he gets around you and gets emotional. Three, you guys already knew he was here because about a dozen different people were aware of you hiding in the bushes and listened to you guys when you were scooping out Angels this morning. And Xander, they really didn't like the clothes comment." The group winced at this, they knew they weren't the best at sneaking around, but to have it so casually thrown at them was rather embarrassing. "Now I've told everyone to lay off on you, hopefully that will make working together easier. So instead of being insulted all the time, all you'll get is a cold shoulder." She said turning back to Giles. "Don't mistake this as us accepting you, or that you have any power in all of this Giles. The power is Faith's, you are just an advisor. Her chief of staff if you will."

"It would be easier if we had an overall commander though Buffy."

"You do. You have Faith."

"One that is not so reckless perhaps?" Giles tried.

"I don't have time to deal with you Giles." Buffy said, a scowl on her face. "I have to many responsibilities to do this sort of thing. Depending on their willingness to cooperate; will depend how the Potentials are trained. If they shape up, and do as they're told fine I'll let them train with others. If they're going to act like spoiled brats on power trips because they might get the power then they can be tossed in the cellar and train there for all I care." Buffy gave Willow a knowing look. "I will try to work with you despite our problems, other than that don't expect a whole lot right now."

"Thank you." Giles said, before the others could say anything. "Now about the weapon on your back." He said pointing to the scythe.

"At the meeting."

"But."

"That's how we're going to do this Giles."

"But Faith can't really leave the Potentials on their own here. Perhaps if you gave a summary here, and left that item here we could tell you more about it." Giles tried.

Buffy waved the concern and suggestion away. "I have a team of soldiers that will be patrolling the area just in case some of the leftover Bringers decide to visit you guys."

"Leftover?"

"Yeah when we attacked the vineyard last night we killed between 20 or 30 of them." The Scoobies stared at the Slayer in shock at this new bit of information. "Look, I want to check on Faith before I go, and I do have to set up for a meeting so I'll be going now."

"Don't you think you owe us an explanation Buffy?" Giles asked. "Surely you could have told us you had called for reinforcements. And I can't help but wonder why you bothered bringing your family into this."

"Its not exactly what I was expecting honestly." Buffy admitted to the group. "I meant it as warning, but instead of sticking there heads in the sand like the rest of the world, they decided to believe me and come help. Might help that my family seems to have a thing for the weird and saving the world. And I thought we had already established the fact that you weren't my Watcher anymore."

"Very well then, why didn't you tell us that you were connected to the Warren line? Had I known."

"You would have seen to it my mystical potential had been opened up in that way as well? If it hadn't been for Prue and the others, I might not even know that I was a witch by blood. A witch from one of the most powerful lines of wandless witches to I might add. I'm sure you would have loved to unlock any mystical powers I might have had. Just like I know you've been considering ways to perform the joining spell ever since I told you, you weren't in charge anymore and that I didn't need a watcher. Or maybe it was after you and Anya found out that it was because of Willow bringing me back that you've been plotting this. I know that you expected me to die fighting Caleb and the First." Giles looked at the table guiltily while the others looked in surprise at this, they obviously had not having been a part of this plan.

Buffy shook her head. "I gotta go things top do a world to save." She walked to the doorway and paused. "By the way, thanks for the wakeup call. I really needed that slap across the proverbial face." She then walked out, leaving the scoobies to consider what had just gone on. The Slayer walked into the next room, and was almost immediately confronted by a smirking Kennedy.

"What?" The taller teen asked the woman, as she tried to loom over the blonde. "Your great family already kicked you out? And you decided to try and beg your way back in with us?" The girl sneered at the Slayer. "Thanks for the offer, but we're much better off without you."

Buffy rolled her eyes at the rich girl. Despite the fact that she had saved all of their ungrateful Asses, and the fact that of the two of them she was the only one of the two of them armed, the girl was still trying to push her buttons and try to prove that she was greater than the others. "I'm trying to include you little girls in a war that we've all been fighting with our heads up our Asses. And the sooner we get our heads screwed on correctly the better off we'll all be."

"Then why don't you get started and send that family of yours away. In fact, why don't you go with them."

"As fun as this isn't, I do have more important things to do. Now move." Kennedy glared, but stepped out of the way. The memory of what the witch from earlier had done still fresh in her mind, and until Willow was ready to do magic she didn't have the kind of power needed.

Buffy ignored the other Potentials, as they made half-hearted apologies. She walked up the stairs and went to her old room, and found Faith lying on the bed with Wood sitting in the chair next to her. The High School Principle watched the woman warily, but he couldn't deny that the small woman before him now had the same dangerous aura that his mother used to have when she fought her own vampires and demons.

Buffy ignored the principle, and turned to her fellow Slayer, the other half of the Chosen Two. She grabbed her hand for a moment, and gave it a brief squeeze. "Get better." The Slayer whispered into the brunette's ear. "I need you to be five by five for the mess that we gotta deal with." She then walked to the other side of the bed, and with movements of practice slipped the window up and climbed out before she dropped to the ground silently. A couple minutes later Willow nudged the door open flanked by Dawn and Xander. Their faces fell, as they saw the open window. Dawn rushed to the window, and watched as the figure in black ran off in a burst of Slayer speed.

Xander shook his head, before turning to the others in the room with a weak grin. "How come the Buffster always manages to get all of the cool clothes?" He asked lightly of those in the room. "I mean seriously, no matter what happens she always has an outfit to go with what's going on."

"Good fashion sense and the right connections." Faith replied weakly from the bed. "Girl always seem to make the right connection when it comes to clothes."

Robin sprang to help Faith, as she tried to sit up. "Easy there Faith, you took some pretty bad hits back there when that cavern caved in on you.

"Caved in my ass. The place was rigged to blow. The First let us catch that Bringer just so that it could get rid of us without B getting hurt."

"Yes, that is a fairly accurate theory." Giles said, as he walked into the room.

"What was B doing here anyways? She come to make sure we all in one piece?"

"No, you were the only one she checked on. She was merely telling me where to be and not bring anyone but you with me."

"Explain." The group explained to the Slayer, though they made sure to inform Faith Giles was accompanying her not the other way around.

"Personally I think we should stay away from these people." Giles said from where he was standing. "Buffy may not antagonize us, but I doubt she will reign in her family either. And with Spike likely being there this could be ugly."

"Shows how much you guys really know B then G. If you want to stay here then you're welcome to, but I am so going." The Slayer said, as she took a long pull from her cigarette, despite the disapproving looks she was getting.

"Faith, you need to let your body heal." Giles argued.

"News flash G. I'm in charge. Sides I don't recall you objecting to B fighting when she had been drained by the Master, or when she was to weak to fight because of you and your drugs." Giles blinked in surprise at this. "Yeah I know all about some of the shit you put her through. Spent a lot of time reading her journal."

"You read her journal?" Dawn said in shock.

"Yep, but only the pages that she told me to read." She said, as she held a scrap of paper that told her where to start reading. "So yeah G, I'm going you can come with if you want to.

"Very well. I disagree with this plan though." Giles said, as he pulled out the stake and placed it on the bedside. We leave in thirty minutes if you want to get cleaned up now would be the time."

"Gotchya."

* * *

**Good guys: BASECAMP**

Faith and Giles popped into a room and stumbled to the ground.

Cursing, the dark haired slayer tucked and rolled with her fall, and came back up on her feet. Giles, meanwhile, was stuck on the ground where he had fallen.

"Nice landing." Faith joked, as she offered her hand to the former Watcher. She looked around the room cautiously. They were inside a medium sized room, which had been cleared of nearly all of the furniture, with the exception of the man hiding behind the bulletproof glass with a machine gun. There were four other men in the room, as well, and all of them held weapons at the ready.

"Well, _this_ definitely ain't the welcoming committee that I was expecting," Faith drawled to the men.

"That's them, all right," Spike said from where he was standing, partially hidden in the shadows of another doorway. He gestured for them to follow him, which they did as they inched past the gunmen.

"Where are we going, Spike, and why didn't Buffy come and get us?" Giles asked, as they walked down a hallway.

"Simple, really, Rupert," Spike returned, as he waved at a couple of soldiers. "Slayer's family is teaching her how to delegate some of her jobs. It's about bleeding time someone taught her if you ask me. She still needs reminders though that she ain't in this mess alone. You really ought to have taught the Slayer those sorts of things Rupert."

Giles nodded in a noncommittal fashion, as they finally walked into a conference room.

The bleached vampire nodded toward a pair of chairs at about the middle of the table. They each nodded their thanks, and quickly sat down at their assigned places. The two then sat and waited, as the rest of the people began to show up.

First were Jesse and Luke Duke, followed by the Winchester brothers. Giles recognized them as a pair of Demon Hunters that were making a name for themselves outside of their father's shadow. Next were Jack O'Neill and Sam Finn, who both took seats to either side of the head seat. Harry Potter came in with a group of three wizards; then came one of the Halliwell sisters, then a blonde gentleman, and the boy who had thrown Faith.

There were two men with the mark of what appeared to be an Egyptian God on their foreheads. The marks were filled with what looked to be gold. Joining them was Dr. Daniel Jackson himself.

Two of the sword wielders were next, followed by a man in a wheelchair, who had brought three of his own people with him.

They all wore the same black leather uniforms that Giles had seen Buffy wearing earlier; the only difference appeared to be cosmetic additions. Of the three of them, the only one that he knew was Scott Summers, Buffy and Dawn's older cousin, who taught at a school, according to what Dawn had told him. Of course, if that was true, then one had to wonder what the school taught, exactly, to have teachers like this.

"So, are we all here?" Buffy asked, as she walked into the room last of all.

"Anyone not here, please raise your hands," one of the Winchester brothers jibed, earning a few chuckles.

"All righty, then, folks. It looks like we're ready to start, then," The Slayer said, as she sat down. Placing the Scythe on the table, Buffy slid it towards Faith. "What do you feel, Fay?"

Faith reached out, and picked up the weapon. Her breath hitched for a second, as she felt the power that the weapon had in it begin to rush through her like some kind of drug. It felt like her Slayer powers had just been amped up, or maybe her connection to the Slayer power had become a little easier to feel. With this weapon in her hands she felt like she could beat anything.

"I feel the power," the woman said, smirking slightly, as she let the feeling wash over her. "It feels like it's mine." She frowned a little then, as she gave the weapon a longing look. "Which means that it's yours." She then shoved it back towards the blonde.

"It's the weapon of the Slayer," Buffy pointed out. "I think you and I need to have a talk later. Alone," she added, giving Giles and several of her family and their friends knowing looks.

She picked the Scythe up, and twirled it a couple of times before she set it back on the table. "What do you think, Master Bra'tac?"

The Master Warrior stood up as he examined the weapon. "It is indeed a mighty weapon," the First Prime complimented. "Its balance is exquisite," he went on, as he suddenly grabbed the weapon, and spun with it in his hands, stopping a few breaths away with the flat of the blade against Buffy's neck. "This is truly the weapon of a warrior. If the staff weapon has one fault, it is its length, making it at times awkward."

"That, and its accuracy when it is compared to Tau'ri weapons," interjected Teal'c solemnly.

"This is a true thing that you say, Teal'c, but they are the weapons we know best," the older of the two men said, before he returned the weapon to its current wielder. "May you bring fear to your enemies with this," he said, inclining his head in respect to the warrior woman.

Buffy smiled, and returned the bow as she accepted the weapon back. The Slayer then turned back to the table. "Some of the soldier boys asked a few questions earlier that got me to thinking. It's pretty and all," she stated, looking with almost maternal fondness at the Scythe, "but why were they guarding it? What's so important about this thing?" She placed the weapon on the table, as she sat back down at the head seat.

"Is it capable of hurting ghosts, or spirit-form demons?" Sam Winchester asked. "If so, that might be why they were so intent on keeping it away from you. This might be something that could hurt the First."

"But they wouldn't have needed to dig it out, then, if it _can_ hurt the First, would they?" Dean asked his brother. "I mean, yeah, demons can be stupid and arrogant at times, but not that stupid and arrogant."

"Bait?" Harry Potter asked from his seat. "You did say that you had lost a lot of people to get it. Maybe it's only something to draw you to it."

"If that was the case, then why was there something of actual worth there? Though it's not a bad idea." Buffy sat back, her eyes going a little distant for a moment as she chewed lightly at her bottom lip in thought.

Wolverine glanced at the weapon; various people were looking at it as they all talked. The mutant sniffed at it. "It's got some adamantium in it, and other scents that I can't even tell you what they are."

"You can tell that just by sniffing it?" Buffy's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yep."

"Well, the nose knows, I guess," a couple of figures muttered.

"It has runes on it, as well." Remus said, as he looked at it. "But they're so well done, that you almost can't see them. I would probably be better at reading them by running my hand across them than by actually reading them."

"Ruins? Like old buildings?"

"No, Runes are, for lack of a better description, one of the main written languages of magic. We use Runes as a branch of magic since they can be used to reinforce things like protective wards," the werewolf explained to the Muggle army of protectors.

"Okay, since a lot of you guys have told me I have to," Buffy gave Jack and Riley pointed looks at this, "I'll begin giving orders, and try not to lead every single charge. Because it requires either me or Faith to probably finish the job, and since Faith is going to be busy for the most part with training, and making sure that the potentials don't get killed. Don't worry, Faith, I'll also have a team of soldiers for you to BS with," Buffy assured the other Slayer, as she noticed the look the brunette had on her face. "You're also going to help with some of the scouting, so you don't go stir crazy."

"Thanks, B, I so don't have your tolerance for crap," Faith said, genuinely grateful. "And some of them seem to have already forgotten that I'm the one that they wanted to be in charge, but they think that everything is up to a freaking vote." The dark haired slayer rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Do I look like Uncle Sam to you?"

The men in the room very carefully did not answer out loud, but the silent consensus was that there could be very few people who looked less like Uncle Sam than the sultry, brashly sexy brunette Slayer.

"Oh believe me, I don't envy you one bit." Buffy said. "Consider this the other part of your sentence," she smirked evilly at the other Slayer, who scowled at her.

"I'd rather go back to jail, personally."

"Yeah, well, I want to go someplace where I can spend all day working on my tan, and all night clubbing. I haven't quite gotten there yet, though." The blonde Slayer leaned back a little in her chair, grinning.

Prue nodded in agreement with that statement.

"With or without a bathing suit?" Faith asked, a knowing grin on her face.

"Um..." Buffy paused, as she blushed at the question.

"Um, I know this may sound silly, but...getting back on topic to the town," Daniel began, "what are the plans for the various artifacts that are in Sunnydale? There are a lot of valuable and irreplaceable things here. If we had a group work on it, we could move large portions of the things out of Sunnydale, and they wouldn't have to be lost or destroyed in fights that are likely to go all over the place." His face was very earnest, blue eyes wide behind his glasses.

"Let me get you straight. We're in the middle of a fight, probably one of the major fights between Good and Evil... Hell, for the very survival of the Earth itself... and you want to go and get the museum cleaned out of all its old doohickeys?" demanded Buffy, incredulous.

"Eh, that's Daniel for ya," Jack said shrugging dismissively. "He'd rather go and play with old doodads from who knows when, than deal with the stuff in the here and the now."

"Yes, and it is one of the secondary objectives, Jack," Daniel pointed out smugly.

"Fine," Buffy said, sighing. "You can have a group move the various doodads and thingamajigs up. I think some of the Scoobies might be able to help you; besides, it would be great team building for some of the girls, and the older Scoobies know where some of the more dangerous pieces are, and will steer you clear of things that you should probably leave alone."

'Like mummy girls that suck your life force out,' she thought to herself.

"Willow and Giles will be your best references, though Xander and Andrew probably know a lot about that stuff too. Faith, have the Scoobies mark all of the spots on a map where we might find artifacts. Start on the museum first, though, Doc, and make sure you get the stuff clear of the town. With something this big, we have no idea how big of an explosion this will cause when we win."

Giles started at this. This was this first time that Buffy had said that they were going to win, and had any kind of conviction in her words. Perhaps they really did have a chance at this.

"All right I'll do that." Daniel said. "I'm glad that you're being so understanding about this, unlike some people can be," he said, shooting a look at Jack.

"Don't even get me started, Doc. Funky old stuff like that has been the cause of more headaches than I really know what to do with. So, taking a flamethrower to a lot of that stuff would be a great plan, as far as I'm concerned." The blonde smiled at Jackson, while several of the other people snickered as the appreciative look Daniel had been wearing changed to horror.

"She does have a point, Daniel," Jack said smugly. "Or have you forgotten about that glowing skull thing that turned you into a ghost? Or how about Thor's Hammer, or the Quantum Mirror? Or my personal favorites, that Ancients memory thing, and their time loop toy?"

"All right, we'll be careful," Daniel promised, holding his hands up in defeat. Not really wanting Jack to bring up another one of their past adventures, because of some artifact or other that they had found.

"Hey, don't you enjoy that sort of stuff, Prue?" asked Buffy.

"Yes; and yes, I'll help them," the dark-haired witch said. 'Hopefully the other two won't complain too much,' Prue mused.

"Good."

"The rest of us are going to clear the town out. I also need some of the research people to see if they can find anything on the Scythe. There's got to be something about it somewhere, and I wouldn't mind knowing what it is."

"Okay; anything else?"

One of the swordsmen spoke up from his seat. "We've found what appears to be a secondary base. We're not sure yet though, because we can only get so close before they're aware of us being there." He pointed to a map and circled an area with a pen. "This is the area that is being guarded," he explained, "it encompasses about two or three warehouses that no one can get close to without being spotted. When we were searching for you earlier, we got close to the place, but were delayed; then you were found, making it unnecessary. First, there was the crazy one that challenged Adam, then by the message that ye had been found."

"So, who or what are they hiding there?" Jonathan Kent asked, as he looked at the area that had been circled. "With an area that large, you could hide an entire strike force, or something."

"Now there's a charming thought that I could have lived without," grimaced the blonde.

"We don't know what's there. But whatever it is in there, though, it must be important. And what's more, these guards aren't Bringers."

This got several people's attention, as they suddenly listened more closely.

"The guards appeared to be a mixture of various humans, from various walks of life and warlocks. I, personally, wouldn't be surprised if there were other people in there that we hadn't seen yet."

"Professor, can you do your whole mental thing, and figure out what it is that we are going up against?" the Slayer asked hopefully.

Giles looked at the older gentleman, and wondered what Buffy could be talking about.

"I might," Xavier said, "but there is the fact that since the First is a non-physical being, it might have a large knowledge on mental assaults and defenses, and be able to withstand any intrusion that I make. It could even possibly detect if any type of intrusion was made upon it, or any of its followers that would be around there. And if the forces are all demonic, I would have no true idea what it is that I am looking for."

"All right," the Slayer said. The plan had been good, but there had to be others. Buffy paused, as she thought about what it was that was going on. "OK, Professor, I got a question for you while we're talking about abilities."

The man nodded.

"Can your kids kill if they have to?" the Slayer asked bluntly. She needed to know who to count on. "I've seen some of your people in action," she nodded to Scott and Logan, "and in practice. They're good, there's no doubt about it, but can they kill things that were once humans like the Bringers, or whatever else it is that we're up against?"

Xavier paused for a moment before he looked at Wolverine. "Logan, what's your opinion on this?"

The others all seemed a little surprised that he was asked, but seemed to understand why as well.

The mutant pulled a toothpick he had been chewing on out from his teeth. "Well, Chuck, I think the girls can definitely do it if they were pushed to it."

"Trust me, mountain man, if they get into this, they won't have a choice but kill or be killed," Faith said, as she studied Wolverine curiously.

Wolverine nodded and continued his summary of the kids. "The Popsicle might be able to, as well. I ain't sure yet, but even if he can't he'd be great for just freezing 'em inta blocks of ice. As for the Russian metal mound of muscle, unless he's gonna be fighting it out with one of those really strong types, I don't think he'll be much use. He ain't got the killer instinct that ya need fer this sort of thing. When it comes right down to it, he's just too freaking nice fer his own good." Logan actually looked annoyed at this. "He could be a danger out on the field 'cause he won't do what has ta be done. If he can't take 'em out fer good, he shouldn't be dealing in skirmishes at all, but he might be the muscle ya need ta deal with something big," the mutant concluded, replacing the toothpick in the corner of his mouth.

"Does that answer your questions, my dear?" Xavier asked. Inside, he was both pleased and worried that Colossus couldn't do the jobs he needed to do.

"Yeah, it does," Buffy replied, thinking hard. The Slayer chewed on her lip for a moment as she tried to figure out how to deal with this problem. Then she smiled as she looked at Dr. Jackson. "Have your tin man join the retrieval team; he can help move stuff, and he can be a good defense if things get bad."

"That sounds like a good plan," Daniel agreed, smiling.

"What about you, kid? Can you kill?" Jack asked as he looked at Clark Kent.

Clark Kent looked up at the soldier and remembered Tina Greer, and how she had impaled herself on a pole.

"I've only had to kill someone once. Twice, if you count the demon Luke and I killed," he replied uncomfortably. He wasn't happy about the idea of having to kill anyone or anything, but Clark knew that it was something that had to be asked.

The Slayer nodded sadly in understanding.

"I hope it never gets easier for you, kid. You look like someone that it can't be fun for. Just remember that this is something that has to be done," Jack said kindly but sternly.

The dark haired teen sighed, and slowly nodded in acceptance of what he was being told.

The Slayer addressed the whole group now. "Split into teams, and let's begin searching for any more clues, people. It looks like we have a long night of work ahead of us. Dean, Sam, stay here; the rest of you, go do your thing."

The group nodded as they all got up, some of them tossing salutes, others mock salutes as they left to help out where they could.

The only ones left in the room now were Spike, Buffy, the Winchester brothers, Faith, and Giles.

"So what did ya need from us?" Dean Winchester asked, slouching in his chair.

"I need you two to ward the Scooby HQ base against spiritual attacks. I don't know if that will stop the First from entering, but it's the only plan I got right now. Hopefully it will stop it; realistically, it might slow it down." The brothers nodded, and walked out to get enough salt and holy water to protect the house. "Spike, you and Giles out of here."

"But..."

"Spike."

"Right, Slayer. Let's go, Rupert," the vampire said grumpily, as he pushed off from the wall that he had been leaning against.

"Buffy, perhaps Spike and I should stay," Giles protested.

"It's not your concern, Giles." The Slayer's voice was cool and implacable.

The watcher nodded in defeat, as he followed the vampire out the door.

"Harsh," Faith commented.

"Yeah, I know, but sometimes he needs to let us do our thing," agreed Buffy, beginning to move toward the door.

"And what is our thing?" Faith asked nervously. She knew that Buffy could easily kick her ass – hell, she knew that Spike might be able to put major hurting on her if he felt like it, but he hadn't really been into it the other night. Just like Angelus had beaten her pretty badly till she managed to come up with that crazy plan, and B had actually beaten Angelus at the age of seventeen! Since then, she had gotten like five more years of training and experience. No; Faith knew that B was good. Besides, she doubted she'd want to fight her over what had happened.

"I actually wanted to talk to you," Buffy said, as she looked at her fellow Slayer. "How are you feeling after having a cavern fall on you?"

"Pretty good, all things considered. I thought I'd be stuck in bed all day and all night with those injuries, even with the whole Slayer healing and endurance package."

"Yeah, well, the wand wavers have ways of increasing your healing power," Buffy said, as she leaned against the blacked out window, leaving the Scythe to rest between them. Neither of the girls wanted to think about it much. And they just sat there in silence.

"You ever think that there's a reason that we never got along?" asked the blonde suddenly.

"You mean aside from me going evil?" Faith contemplated the toes of her shit-kicker boots, shame at the memories her statement evoked bringing a flush to her cheeks.

"No, seriously, what if the whole 'there's only supposed to be one' thing is part of the reason that we have trouble getting along?"

The two looked at each other quietly, as they considered this.

"It's a good thing we're hot super heroes along with everything else, though."

Buffy smirked at this. "It does help."

A few minutes later, the two walked out of the room and met Giles and Spike, who were busy glaring at each other.

The two Slayers snickered at the two of them. "Come on, you two, we've got to find those two brothers, and get to making the house strong enough."

The two nodded reluctantly, and followed after the two Slayers, who were headed to the garage where the Winchester brothers' Impala stood waiting.


	22. Explanations, Fights, & friends

**Explanations, Fights, & friends**

The texaswookie swallows nervously, as he sees the giant figure that is making its way toward him. "You've gotta be freaking kidding me." The writer complains in dismay. "Don't you think that this is just a little bit of overkill?"

Harry Potter smirks from the nearby doorway. "I don't know what your so worried about, say the disclaimer and I save your worthless hide. I wish it was that easy to take on Voldemort."

"Glad to know you think so much of me." The Texan complains, as he jumps back, barley missing the multiple attacks coming at him.

"I don't." The Boy-Who-Lived stated calmly, as he watched the Texan try and stay ahead of Hagrid's pet Cerebus Fluffy. The Wizarding world's Chosen One, tossed his wooden owl flute back and forth in his hands.

The Texan dodges again, but the dog manages to knock his Stetson off this time, and stamps on it, mashing the black hat flat. "Now that was just wrong in so many ways." The writer complains.

"Just say it already. Maybe he won't drool on it." Harry said impatiently.

"You have a very warped and twisted sense of humor you know that right?" The writer says, as a paw takes a swipe at him the wind from the blow knocks him over.

The Boy-Who-Lived shrugged. "Well, I got to get my jollies somehow."

"So you send Clifford the Big Red Dog's ugly mutated cousin after me?" The writer questions the wizard a bit incredulously.

"Eh, whatever works." The wizard said shrugging. The writer stops moving to respond, and is instantly pinned to the floor by one of the paws. "Anything you want to say?" Harry Potter asks sweetly.

"Fine." The writer grumbles, though he is having trouble talking with the giant paw holding him down. "I the Texaswookie, do not lay any claim whatsoever to the characters in this story, since they belong to various other people who make quiet a bit more money than I do. If you need the exact names they're somewhere in the closer front chapters. Thank you very much."

"Now was that really that hard to say?" Harry asks.

"Just play your damn flute already." The Chosen One nods, and plays a slow tune on his flute putting the giant dog instantly to sleep. The wizard then leaves the room. "Hey, your not going to leave me under here are you?" The writer asks worriedly, as he struggles against the heavy paw.

Harry Potter sticks his head back through the door. "What do you think?" He asks, as he disappears from sight.

"Stupid Wizard."

* * *

**Casa De Scooby**

The Winchester brothers finished off laying the salt down, and were set to leave. The two men had said little to the people living in the house, having little in common with the group. Other than they fought demons, of course; but even their methods of fighting were different. Of course, that could be because they fought a different breed of demon than the people here did; and just like the people here were more used to demons that attacked them in a physical manner, they were more used to the ones that attacked in a more spiritual manner. The main difference in them, though, was that while the Winchester family had chosen to fight demons, these girls hadn't really been given a whole lot of choice. Some of them were only now receiving training in how to fight. In a way, the two brothers related better to Xander than they did to the various girls, since they had learned how to combat the creatures of evil long ago without the benefit of superpowers.

Even when Sam's powers were used, they were, at the moment, too unreliable for either of them to trust, and were considered a wildcard weapon for now by both of the brothers. They had instructed the carpenter, geek, and former Principal on how to lay the salt in front of the front door before they went outside, and waited in the Impala for the Slayer.

The two Slayers were hidden away in another room with Willow and Giles. One was busy typing away on her computer, and describing holy or sacred weapons she had found out about, while the other used his books doing much the same thing. Sometimes the two even cross-referenced the other's search, and pointed something out to them. The two of them finally discovered a temple that might hold some of the answers that they were looking for.

Buffy looked at the bit on the computer with Faith, both women reading over the witch's shoulder. The two shrugged; this was what the Scoobies had always relied on these two for more than anything else, to give them the information that they needed to take down the big bad. Yes, the magic they had used over the years had been a help, but it had always been the two's research ability that had helped them, Xander, Angel and Spike the most in beating the big bad of the month.

Shrugging again, Buffy did the only thing she could think to do; she congratulated Willow on finding something so fast. "Great job, Wills. It's great to see that you haven't let something like a weapon lost through time slow you down in your searching."

The redhead blushed happily at this. Despite all of the years, a compliment from Buffy could still make the red head glow.

"E-mail this info to Doc Jackson, Wills. He might be able to see if there's anything that we've missed, or have a brainstorm on something else we can look at," the blonde Slayer directed her best friend.

The red head nodded, while Giles watched jealously as Buffy pulled out a paper with a handful of E-mail addresses, which had Dr. Jackson, Sam and Riley Finn, one of the Halliwell sisters, and a few others on it. With that list, he could have who knows how many bits of information at his fingertips.

Buffy ignored the geek drool that Giles had over the e-mail list, and pulled out her radio. "Yo, Uncle Connor. Have a couple of your people at a temple, I need an idea of what it is, 'cause it could hold the answers to the Scythe. Please and thank you, and if you're nice I might add a cherry on top of that." She was sure that Connor Macleod could hear the grin in her voice.

"You got it lass, and don't call me Uncle Connor!"

The Slayer chuckled, ignoring the Immortal as she fiddled with the radio. "Hey Jack. I need you to have a team join me and Connor when we go to check this temple out. It might tell us what kind of toy it is that we got from the winery." She rattled the address off again. "Bring Doctor Jackson, too. From what you've told me, he has Xander's ability to find the weird stuff; the only difference is that he can actually read what he's getting himself into."

"I sometimes wonder how she passed any of her English tests." Giles muttered to himself, as he began mentally correcting Buffy in her bad grammar.

"Right, kid. You do realize, this ain't exactly what I had in mind when it came to leading though, right?" Jack asked half-seriously.

"And it seems, that it just might be a genetic trait," Willow murmured in the watcher's ear.

"And I'm sure you'd do so much better your first time in the seat when you've always spent more time bending and breaking rules," Buffy sniped, smirking.

"Hey! This isn't about me, it's about you," the colonel defended himself.

"I know, but if this temple is about the Scythe, then I'm probably one of the only ones who can get in anyway," the Slayer pointed out. She heard a sigh over the radio, as her Uncle Jack seemed to be admitting defeat. "Besides," Buffy continued, "this time I'm not going in with just a bunch of people, but with a fully trained team, and two of Connor's friends to act as scouts. That should give us an idea of what we're going up against, and I want Dr. Jackson to be pulled away from the museum, and help me if there are any old writings I need him to look at. We also need a truck to come and pick up some of the girls for museum duty. Faith should have a list of who's going, and who's staying ready by the time that it gets here."

"Yeah, sure, I'll do that. Hopefully, Danny-boy won't be too put out with it, since he gets to see an old temple. O'Neill out."

Buffy clicked the radio off, as she turned to regard her counterpart.

"Pick the ones that will work the hardest and fastest, without needing a whole lot of questions," she began. "My cousin Scott will be sending some of his people by, and there's also a military truck that will take some of the girls, and at least one of his, to the museum. It's your call who goes and who stays; there's still a few Council-raised Potentials that should know some of that stuff. Just be sure they'll work, and that they can keep their flirting down to a minimum," Buffy concluded, pulling the tie out from her hair and fixing the braid she'd confined it in, and then replacing the tie. She then tucked the braid down the collar of her shirt so that it wouldn't get caught on anything.

"You sound like you're worried about our girls getting horny, B." Faith said suggestively. "Someone you ain't told us about yet?"

"With metal boy, I've got reason to worry," Buffy said. "Scott's also leaving some people to help with security, and give you guys time to talk about what you learned. Okay, I got other things to do, so I'll have the brothers drop me off at the temple. Keep that radio on, just in case. There may be more happening than any of us are really ready for. Xander should still remember the correct soldier lingo to use with it, if you don't send him off with the artifact team, that is."

"You got it, B," the dark-haired Slayer told the blonde. "You sure you don't want any of us to join you?"

"Nah, I got it. This will probably be a simple thing, and it'll be done in an hour or so. I'm taking a team with me 'cause there are a few rules and such things that I have to follow, whether I like it or not. If it weren't for me being one of the only ones probably able to figure out what the whole Scythe thing means, I probably would be stuck in the command room, while someone else investigates."

The two shared a knowing look, knowing that, if the blonde failed, it would then be up to the other Slayer to find out what the Scythe was. "You just make sure the girls stay alive; without them, we've got no future," Buffy said quietly, holding Faith's eyes with her own.

"You got it, B," the brunette reiterated. The blonde nodded, and walked out, joined the two brothers in the car, and told them to drive.

A few minutes later, Faith had arranged a team that she thought was best situated for the upcoming job. "You girls listen to X, now. He happens to know what he's talking about when it comes to things not to touch, but that's only because he's already had to go through all the transformations or spells that are side effects of playing with them. We got an E-mail that says all of the Egypt stuff has to be packed up, minus Xander's mummy girlfriend, that is."

"As long as we're not digging around the College I'm there," Xander said. "I so do not want malaria, dysentery and whatever else it was that those Indians gave me, and why is it that we always have to remember my screw-ups, and not everyone else's?"

"Because they're the ones that almost always leave us with the craziest adventures," Dawn replied with wide-eyed innocence.

"Yes, and since you never let me talk about my orgasms - when we were having them, that is - there is really very little else about you that is of even the slightest bit of interest. Whereas Dawn has her Key thing; after all, being able to open portals between dimensions is pretty impressive, even if she does have to die to close it. Giles has his Watcher and Ripper thing; Willow has her whole being a witch, and formerly practiced with the dark arts and killed a guy. Buffy has the whole Slayer bit, and now her powerful family, while Faith has that whole redeemed crazy Slayer thing going for her. Spike happens to be a vampire with a soul, and I happen to be an ex-demon. You just aren't all that interesting when it comes right down to it. Though, you are very accomplished in the bed."

"Thanks, Ahn," Xander said dryly, covering the former demons mouth before she could go on about sex. He steadily ignored the snickers from most of the other people in the room. "You know just what to say sometimes. So, when does that truck get here?"

"Not trying to change the subject, now, are we, Xander?" Giles asked, as he returned his glasses to his face after polishing them on his shirt.

"Nah, if I was trying to do that, I would be asking you where I could get me a monocle. It would go with my eye patch, don't you think?" he questioned, with a sarcastic smile.

"And there's the truck," one of the girls said, pointing to a pair of headlights that was coming their way.

Giles watched, as three people got out, then allowed the ten Potentials and the carpenter that been chosen to load up as well. He then watched as the truck roared off to the museum. The watcher hoped that this was a good idea, or else trouble might come from all of this.

* * *

**Sunnydale Museum**

The Potentials and Xander followed after the soldiers that were leading them into the building, which Xander was extremely familiar with. He had fought many a demon in here, and had been nearly killed here a few times, too. Then there were the number of stolen and destroyed items that the Scoobies had had to pretend to know nothing about. The one-eyed carpenter looked at the girls that he had been put in charge of. They were armed with stakes, crossbows and a couple of swords. Xander had actually gone for an axe himself, hoping that he could use it to at least protect himself. Against Bringers, he was good, or at least he had been good. He hadn't fought any of the silent blind guys since he had lost his eye; but as for uber vamps, he knew he didn't stand a chance against those particular beasties before or after his encounter with Caleb.

The soldiers, he had noted, were armed with a variety of weapons: there were stakes at their sides, but they also had P-90's, as well as sidearms, and a few of them had weird bluish metal looking gun things that looked like they had come straight out of a sci-fi movie. The only person that wasn't armed was the kid in a black leather outfit, which was similar to Buffy's, except for the fact that his was sans sleeves. The kid had been referred to as Colossus, for some reason or other, but he knew better than to question why an unarmed kid was with them right now. Xander doubted that the kid could go head to head with an uber vamp, no matter how big the guy was. Someone that they would just have to watch, he guessed. There were also a few other random civvies that he didn't know who they were, but he was sure that they were probably somebody or they wouldn't even be here.

The group stopped in one of the rooms, and one of the people began giving orders. "All right, girls; I want you to strip these statues of their belongings, and start placing them in those boxes over there. Just be careful, 'cause there's no telling what might be on the clothes of these people. Sometimes the smallest and most unexpected thing can be something that will help you or kill you."

A few of the girls tried to smile, but with Xander's agreeing nod, they were back to being serious. "Just be careful with these things, some of them are extremely old, sometimes hundreds of years."

"Or older," Xander said, as he drew an ax from the belt of a knight. "This is a demon ax, not human. So while it might be a few hundred years old, it also might be a few thousand years as well."

"How can you be so sure it's not human make?" one of the soldiers, a dark-haired woman, asked.

The carpenter pointed to the engravings on the side of the blade.

"Because this is a really old demon clan symbol. It's one of the few symbols that I actually know at a glance, since it's mentioned as one of the oldest demon cults. I'm just surprised that I can actually remember it. I usually can't remember things like this. Though the handle has been changed from whatever was originally in it. You can see that this wood is just too new to be anything else."

"Well, we never can be sure till we try," the woman said, congratulating him on his ability to identify the weapon. "All right, you have your assignments. Alphabetize the statues, and then number the items. Like, this guy's helmet might be something like 'L5'. Think you guys can do that?"

"Yeah, sure; they're good. I mean, I don't think even I can screw something like this up. And I don't want to hear anyone saying that I could, either," the carpenter finished, giving some of his Potentials a bit of a glare with his one eye. "Unless, of course, you want to be the ones to help Andrew in the kitchen," the one eyed man threatened, a dangerous smirk tugging at his lips.

There was a loud clicking sound, as four of the girls closed their mouths as fast as they possibly could.

"All right, well, the soldiers here need to go load up all of the Egyptian equipment, and do we need guards?"

"The Duke boys have got that, ma'am," another soldier said. "If something does come from outside, they should be able to give us some heads up."

"Where are they?" asked Prue Halliwell curiously.

"The roof," the young man replied with a bit of a grin. "With those arrows of theirs, they'll definitely give someone that isn't wanted a welcome that they won't soon forget."

The witch nodded at this. "All right. Let's go, people! Mr. Macleod, I believe you were going to start collecting the old weapons, swords, knives and older styled pistols and rifles?"

"Aye, lass, and I'll do me best to keep a radio open," the Highlander assured the witch, as he walked off.

"Casey, Beth, help him out," Xander said. "You do what he says, though." The two girls nodded, and then went after the long-haired Scot.

Prue Halliwell frowned; she had thought that these kids were going to keep together, though hanging around a man that could only stay dead if his head was cut off was probably safer than some places that they could be in this town.

"Pheebs, Piper, help them out here if they need it," the oldest of the three witches said, as she went to go and overlook the Egyptian artifacts and make sure that they were being stored correctly. Although, she didn't really think she had too much to worry about; for a bunch of soldiers, these people seemed to have a healthy respect for old items like these. She certainly wouldn't have minded having Dr. Jackson helping her direct the people here, however.

* * *

**Graveyard**

Buffy climbed out of the Impala, and waved, as the two brothers peeled out to help where they could. The blonde Slayer walked into the cemetery until she came to the site of the temple. The temple looked kind of like a baby pyramid, and was surrounded by a wrought-iron fence. She nodded a greeting to Dr. Jackson and the two Immortals; she also tossed a quick salute at the soldiers that were waiting nearby as well.

"So, have you been able to break in yet?" she asked of the soldier that appeared to be in command.

"Not yet, the doors are protected by some form of energy shield. We can't seem to get anywhere near it. The field is emitting an energy that we are unfamiliar with. The type of power it uses seems to keep changing frequency, which means that we may be here longer than you had originally anticipated, at least until we can figure out how we might be able to bring this thing down. We might have to put in a call to Major Carter; she'll probably be able to figure it out." The blonde nodded to the soldier, and walked up the steps. "What are you doing?" the non-com asked curiously, as Buffy reached out toward the entrance.

Buffy glanced at the man. "If the Slayer is the only one who can enter at least at first, then it could be that." Pausing, she pushed her hand through the field, and watched as the field seemed to disappear. "I guess I just have the magic touch," the Slayer finished, a slight note of satisfaction coloring her voice. She then kicked the door in, and watched the heavy metal door slide down the stairs. "Danny boy, Meth, you're with me! The rest of you soldier boys set up, and keep the door open for us." She then turned to look at Amanda. "See if you can find another way in, just in case there's someone on the inside with a lovely surprise. I wouldn't be surprised if the bad guys tried to cheat with this now that we have the Scythe."

"Darling, I'm sure if there's a way in, I can find it," the Immortal thief said confidently, as she began to search the area for a different way in than the front door that the other three were using.

Buffy watched silently, chewing on her bottom lip anxiously as she watched the female Immortal disappear around the corner. She really hoped that she was moving people around the right way, but she just wasn't sure. She just hoped that she didn't get to many people killed in whatever happened next.

The Slayer, Immortal and archaeologist entered the temple cautiously. The Immortal and Slayer went first, each holding their weapons at the ready in case something decided that they might make a good snack. Daniel followed a few steps behind them, a gun in one hand, and a video camera in the other. The two in the lead chuckled a bit, as they heard the man making comments about the building. "The entire structure has an Egyptian touch to it, suggesting that the Goa'uld at least influenced the building design. The deep narrow stairway is more in tone with European design though, a merging of ideas that is not really seen all that much," the man concluded, as they reached the ground floor.

"Why not, Doc? This is America, after all. You know it's got that the whole land of opportunity thing going. Maybe whoever it was doing the building decided that it would be fun to start the whole cultural mixing thingy a bit early," Buffy suggested, tongue in cheek.

Daniel looked up from his camera. "You don't really believe that, do you?" he asked, looking at the woman hopefully.

"Dunno; I never really cared that much for these stupid temples," the Slayer said, as she looked around for a few minutes. It was, at first look, a great deal like a lot of the hundreds of other temples and ceremonial places that covered Sunnydale.

"Hmm, this part of the temple seems to resemble a mixture of Greek and Egyptian construction," Daniel said bemusedly, as he panned the camera around the room that already had a number of torches that were burning.

"How so?" Methos asked, as he stared suspiciously at the various hiding places for whomever it was that had lighted the various torches.

"See the way the walls are? There are places for not only scrolls, but also the walls are also built to better record whatever symbols are needed for it. And I've never seen so many different languages in a place like this before. I see Greek, Ancient Egyptian, Goa'uld, Babylonian, Ancient Latin, Sumerian, Norse Runes, some text in the language of the Asgard, Nox, Furlings, Tollan and Ancients. There's also a number I can't even begin to identify," the archaeologist said excitedly, at the prospect of having something new to learn. "This temple could be like a Galactic Rosetta Stone, and open a number of languages up for us. The only time I've ever come close to something like this was when we learned that there was actually a galactic language that all beings could use to communicate. We're still trying to properly decipher it though." Daniel's eyes gleamed with academic fervor.

"Yeah, I recognize some of those as demon languages," the Slayer said conversationally, nodding to a few symbols that she recognized due to her long hours of having to research various things that were trying to end the world, or go on killing sprees in some stupid, insane way or other. "Record as much of it as you can, Doc; we may not get in so easy next time we try."

"You call finding a force field that only you can trigger into getting down, and then kicking down a metal door that must weigh around 200 pounds easy?" Daniel was incredulous, looking over the top of his glasses at Buffy and trying not to laugh.

"Um, yeah, we didn't have to kill any virgins, or at the very least donate blood, or say some complicated words in another language. And while these could be records of things that have already happened, they could also be of what's to come. You know; the stuff they might not put into the usual books of prophecies."

"Right, sure, no problem," Daniel said, glad to have an excuse to focus on the walls. Even if he didn't completely believe in such things as fate, destiny or prophecy the opportunity to learn was too great. He began to slowly pan the camera up and down the wall, trying to capture as much information as he could.

"Meth, see if you can find any cool toys or ways inside," Buffy suggested to Methos.

The Immortal hesitated a moment before reluctantly going to do what the Slayer told him to. The blonde frowned at him, but shook her concern off. The Slayer hesitated a moment, before she headed for the curtained off spot that was a bit off from the foot of the stairs. Warily she gripped the Scythe, as she approached the cloth that was fluttering in a room without a breeze.

The Slayer was startled when a female voice came from behind the curtain.

"I'd forgotten. I'd forgotten how young you would be," A woman with white hair and robes said, as she stepped out from behind the curtain. The old woman's eyes seemed both young and old at the same time, her penetrating gaze seemed to look right into the Slayer's very soul, making the Slayer feel dirty and wrong next to this unknown woman she was on the verge of christening Mrs. Clean. At least, she would if it didn't feel so wrong to do.

Daniel and Methos both turned in surprise at this new addition, as they looked at the woman before the Slayer. Daniel was reminded of an Ascended being with the calm that seemed to radiate from her. Methos, meanwhile, was reminded of some of the more powerful Immortals that that he had met over the years.

The woman ignored the two men and focused entirely on the Slayer that was standing before her. "I see you've found our weapon."

The Slayer, despite the feeling that she felt, wasn't about to let this woman get her guard down, and watched the woman suspiciously. "Who are you?"

The woman didn't seem to be offended by this; in fact she seemed rather pleased about the response that the Slayer gave. "One of many. Well, time was," she conceded, "now I'm alone in this world."

"So what are you, some kind of ghost?" the Slayer questioned her. "Or are you an Immortal like him?" She nodded towards Methos who stood watching them.

The woman smiled at the Slayer, as she shook her head. "Nope, I'm as real, and mortal as you are." The blonde grimaced a bit at this. "Just, well let's say I look real good for my age," the woman said with a smile.

Daniel smirked at this, as he set his camera up to catch the rest of this meeting. If the Slayer was right, and this was one of the few times that they were going to be here, then he needed to get this and he needed to get the walls taken care of. So while the woman silently held her hands out, Daniel finished his setup, and began to film the walls again with a backup camera that he had been carrying just in case something like this happened. He had been geared up to hand the cameras to people that might actually need them while they were working, but this was better, and so he recorded this historical, or at least important event and was able to do his own duties, while the Slayer and Guardian as he heard her call herself began talking about the Scythe and how it had been forged. He listened as the woman spoke.

"We forged this centuries ago, halfway around the world. Forged there, it was put right to use here, to kill the last pure demon that walked upon the Earth. The rest were already driven under. And then there were men here, and then there were monks, and there was a town and now there is you. And the Scythe remained hidden."

"I don't understand this," Buffy confessed to the woman. "How is it possible that we didn't know any of this?"

The woman gave a light smile. "We had to. We had to, until now. We're the last surprise."

Daniel turned and listened, as the Slayer let some of her self-doubt come into play, but the woman merely gave her an evasive answer that would have been worthy of the Nox or the Asgard. There was much that he wanted to ask the woman as he walked around the midsize temple chamber. If she was really as old as she said, then she had so much of the history of the world locked inside of her head, before a number of the ancient tongues had become very popular in recording these sorts of things. He barely caught the last bit of what the Guardian said since he was so lost in his own thoughts, but it was hard to ignore the ominous warning she gave to the Slayer.

"Use it wisely and perhaps you can beat back the rising dark. One way or another it can only mean one thing: an End is truly near."

The next thing the three in the temple heard was the familiar cracking of bones, and a new voice in the room. "I'm sorry I didn't catch that last part on account of her neck snapping and all, but did she say the end was near, or here?"

The other two men turned back around, as they saw the preacher from earlier with the beginning of a smirk on his face.

"Definitely not an Immortal then," Methos mumbled, as his eyes fell to the body of the old Guardian.

The Slayer turned to face the southern gospel spouting church boy. In a way, he kind of reminded her of Luke, the Master's vampire muscle with the way he used Biblical reference sometimes, though Luke had used some dark book of prophecy instead. She lunged at the man, and it seemed as if he almost contemptuously caught the handle of the Scythe with one hand, then punched her in the face with the other. The two started wrestling for the weapon that they each held onto.

The Slayer managed to twist the weapon out of his grip, and slam the flat of the weapon's blade into the side of Caleb's face, and sent him flying back into a wall. While he was dazed, the Slayer hit him in the stomach and forehead with the handle of the weapon, and then she tried to decapitate the man; he ducked the blow and backhanded her into a pillar. The Slayer bounced off the wall, and attacked again, only for the preacher to catch the Scythe by the handle again. Caleb still confidently only used one hand to hold the weapon, as the two struggled for control of the weapon for a second or two, then Buffy kneed him in the gut. The preacher came back up, and punched at the young woman's head, and she just barely ducked as his fist went over her and into the stone pillar, as if it had been some hollow construct. The Slayer then used a move that looked like it came out of one of Jack's hockey games, and shoved the preacher back with her shoulder.

The Preacher chuckled at the young woman, as he looked intently at her, seemingly oblivious to the two men that were watching the fight from the shadows. "You're not slipping out of this fight, girl. Can't you see? You can't stop me," he gloated at her, as he spread his arms out mockingly. "I can just keep going back for more. It's like being reborn."

The two combatants were almost surprised when Daniel stepped from around the corner he had been hiding in and took a shot at the preacher. Caleb ducked to the side, while the Slayer stopped to catch her breath. Caleb spun around, as Daniel shot at him again, unaware that Methos had jumped out at the same time so that the bullets and Immortal met together. The Immortal cursed, as he fell to the ground dead. While Daniel was shocked at what he had inadvertently done, forgetting for the moment that the man would rise again in a few minutes, Caleb took advantage of his surprise and grabbed him by the collar of his vest with one hand, and wrenched the gun from his hand with the other. Daniel hissed in pain as he heard the cracking of the bones in his hand. Caleb then tossed him across the room, where he slammed into a wall. He then turned back to the Slayer.

"Now where were we? Seems like you always got someone interrupting us. Well, little girl, not this time; this time we are going to finish this."

The Slayer nodded her head in silent agreement and struck again. Caleb ducked under another swing, and he came back up and looking almost put out, as he caught the Scythe again. He then pulled up, and kicked the Slayer ten feet across the room where she hit the wall, dropping the Scythe as she fell. Caleb walked up to her and kicked her hard enough to make her fly back up and caught her against the wall, slamming his fist into her gut. As the Slayer tried to get back up, Caleb just kicked her in the face knocking her back down. Sensing victory, Caleb reached down for the Scythe, but Buffy rolled forward and kicked the weapon out of his hands and into the air. While he was watching it, she jumped to her feet, and caught the weapon then kicked him, as she came back to her feet. As she flipped Caleb, over she twirled the weapon so that the stake side was pointed downward and aimed at his face and shoved downward, only for him to stop her by grabbing the weapon by the point. The two struggled for the direction of the point; Caleb managed to use his superior strength to twirl the Slayer one way, who fell as she lost her grip on the weapon. Caleb then tossed the Scythe in the other direction. As the Slayer came to her knees, Caleb caught her with two right crosses, followed by an uppercut.

Buffy struggled to her feet, obviously disoriented after the blows, and her next shot was caught as he punched her twice in the face.

Caleb then walked back over to where she had fallen. "Now, I gave you ample warning. I told you not to interfere," he said as he continued walking past her.

Daniel watched the fight, and decided now was the time that they needed that back up waiting outside for something like this; they should either kill this man or at least hurt him. He brought his radio up to his mouth to call in some more backup when it crackled to life on its own and the sound of gunfire echoed down the stairs. "Commander Summers! We're under attack!"

"Shit," Daniel said, before clicking the radio on. He saw Caleb smirking smugly at him, obviously enjoying destroying their ace in the hole. "This is Dr Jackson; Commander Summers is in the middle of what appears to be a fight to the death. What's going on up there?"

"Sir, we're being attacked by what appears to be a force using guns, zats and staff weapons," reported the door guard succinctly.

"Did you just say staff weapons?" Daniel asked, paling at the thought of what they might be facing.

"Confirm, sir. They also have some zat guns," came the immediate response.

Daniel swore at this. How had they managed to get their hands on a load of Jaffa weapons?

The Slayer climbed unsteadily to her feet, her eyes darting to the stairway. obviously torn between finishing this fight, and helping those in need. "I'll see if I can help," Daniel told her.

The blonde nodded reluctantly as she charged at Caleb, only for him to flip her over his shoulder and slam her head into a wall. "Not so fast, there, son; in fact, why don't you take a seat." The man's foot lashed out, striking Daniel in the face; he was then knocked in the gut by the preacher. "Just sit there till I say you can get up," Caleb said to the now hurt man, before he turned to see the Slayer coming back at him. He flipped her over again, only this time he slammed her onto a leftover stone block with writing on it that had been left there for some reason or other. He then slammed his elbow into her gut again, and she returned the favor by kicking him in the face. As the Slayer pulled herself up, Caleb grabbed her by her equipment vest and slammed her into a pillar, which shook from the impact. The Slayer fell down this time and Daniel was no longer sure about her getting up again. The Scythe was just a few feet from her, and they both watched worriedly as Caleb picked the weapon up as he towered over the Slayer.

He twirled the weapon and they could all hear the weapon hissing, as the blade cut through the air. "I was kind of hoping it would end this way," Caleb told her, as he pulled back to strike the Slayer.

"Hey!" An unexpected voice said angrily. Caleb turned around, and was knocked down by a dark haired man in clothes easily as dark as his eyes. The Slayer stared in shock for a moment, as the man seemed to enjoy having been the one to come help her. He then helped her up, while making some kind of joke about not liking preachers.

"Angel," Buffy breathed out in surprise.

The two then began a kind of small talk in the middle of a battle scene; if he hadn't been hurting so much he might have found it amusing. Instead, he just found it irritating, but he remembered the history of Jack's relative to know just who this man was. The man turned serious, as Caleb climbed back to his feet, looking angrily at the vampire with a soul that had stopped him from killing the Slayer. The vampire moved to intercept the preacher, but stopped as the Slayer put her hand on his chest, stopping him.

The vampire looked at her knowingly for a moment, and stepped back. "Ah, this is one of those things that you have to finish yourself." The vampire took another small step back to give her some more room, and to show that he understood.

The Slayer smiled in thanks. "Really kind of is," she said appreciatively.

The vampire nodded and went to kneel by Daniel, and began helping him up, as he checked the hand and back of his head over. "You are so going to lose," he said, as he watched Caleb stride forward.

Daniel couldn't help but be impressed. What was it about this young woman that she could inspire such love, compassion and loyalty into a pair of vampires? A part of him wanted to help the soldiers upstairs, but he knew they needed to be down here to ensure Caleb didn't get away, and that the Slayer made it out in one piece. Though the Slayer seemed to have regained all her strength back and a bit extra in the few moments that she had been near the vampire.

The Slayer picked up the Scythe, and let Caleb come at her and did a fast spin with the Scythe that Caleb narrowly missed being hit by. She then spun again, but he was ready this time and caught the Scythe again, jerked it from her grasp and shoved her at a nearby wall. Caleb lined the Scythe up carefully and ran at her, intending to impale her against the wall she was leaning on. The Slayer stepped to the side and watched as the weapon actually drove into the wall. Daniel couldn't help but wonder just what kind of wood that was at the bottom of the weapon. Caleb struggled to pull the weapon out of the wall, but he was unable to do so until Buffy came up alongside the weapon and drew it out, kicking the preacher away from her weapon.

"God, I miss watching this," Angel said, as he finished the wrappings on Daniel's hand.

Daniel understood, in a way, what the vampire was talking about. The way Buffy fought was like a kind of living primal art; a number of the inhabitants of planets Daniel had visited would love this. The Jaffa rebellion camp sprang immediately to his mind. The two watched silently as the Slayer took the offensive and did two over head swings that Caleb ducked under; the preacher then came out with a right cross, over-extending himself, and the Slayer took the weakness in his defenses, ducked under the blow, and slammed the blade of the Scythe into his stomach. They all watched the shocked expression of Caleb, as the Slayer jerked the blade out.

Caleb stepped backwards, laughing. The three of them tensed up, uncertain what the man would do next, but then he fell to the ground next to the Guardian that he had just murdered.

Angel watched the Slayer with pride as she breathed in a sigh of relief and turned to the dark haired vampire. "See?" she said. "Under control."

The vampire then walked up to her. "Well, at least you could tell me you're glad to see me." The two joined together in a kiss.

Daniel smiled, though this would probably make a number of Buffy's family very annoyed, the girl looked like she was happy for the moment. He cocked his head, though, when he thought he heard someone talking; but he heard nothing else so he dismissed it. The two broke apart and spent the next couple of minutes in small talk before they got down to business. The vampire picked up a folder he had laid down earlier, and the two began discussing the problems that were in the town.

Before they could get very far, though, Caleb got back up and hit the vampire in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground.

"Are you ready to finish this, bitch?" The preacher looked like he was ready to go another dozen rounds now.

The Slayer paused as she saw that Caleb's eyes were now completely black, just like Willow's got whenever she decided to do magic these days. He was also bleeding quite a bit of black blood from his eyes, mouth, nose and maybe even his ears.

Daniel knelt beside the vampire and checked for any major damage. "Now what?" he muttered to himself, as he watched Caleb slam a piece of crockery into the Slayer's face, which sent her tumbling back.

"What do you think you should be doing, Dan'iel?" a familiar voice asked the man. Daniel stiffened as the image of his dead wife materialized before him.

The archaeologist went rigid at the vision of beauty before him, which occasionally haunted his dreams. He didn't really want to turn away from this, but he knew that he had to. "Sha'uri?" He managed to ask in a raspy voice filled with emotion, as he stared upon the smiling visage of his wife. A wife that he had buried himself, he had to strongly remind himself.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" he asked, as he stared at her. "How are you here?"

Sha'uri gave him one of her most angelic and sweetest smiles, the ones that she had used to give him right before she did something really revealing. "Do not worry, Dan'iel, I am here now."

"But you're really not...are you?" Daniel asked, sighing as he finally got over the shock that he was feeling at seeing the woman he had loved so strongly. "You're nothing more than some form of illusion, that can shift your form to be what you wish."

Sha'uri's image scowled for a moment. "You realize, that by letting the Dark One win, Dan'iel, that you could be with me in the afterlife? Think about it, Dan'iel. You and I, together again..." she said enticingly.

Daniel smiled at this thought. "It's tempting," he admitted, "but the Sha'uri I know would never have said such a thing."

"Perhaps you'd rather listen to the odds in a more logical tone, then?" his own voice answered, as an uneasy Daniel now looked at himself.

"Or perhaps you'd prefer someone with a different point of view than you, Daniel," the form said as it shifted again, this time into the body of Jack. "Someone who isn't afraid to tell you when they think you're being an idiot about something just because you got all of those fancy degrees," it said, in a cold manner completely unlike Jack O'Neill's usual 'Space Monkey' teasing.

Another shift. "Or maybe I can give you a detailed analysis of why even bothering to fight would be a bad idea," Carter said.

"Okay, now that I wasn't really expecting," Daniel said nervously, as he pushed his glasses up.

"Why not? You've all been killed at least once," The First said with Carter's face, smirking at the man. "And I did tell you that you and your friends would be fun."

"Whatever," Daniel returned, "I've got more important things to do than listen to an evil echo of my friends and me." The man turned back to tending the vampire and sending the occasional worried look at the Immortal.

The First shrugged, unconcerned at this, and disappeared in a flash of light. It reappeared instantly, next to the blonde vampire, and in the form of the Slayer. The incorporeal being was convinced that it still had a chance to get Spike on Its side; like his predecessor Angelus, though, you had to know the right buttons to push. With Angelus, it had been guilt; with William the Bloody, however, it was pride.

All those that could, watched as the Slayer was slammed across the room multiple times with the broken crockery.

"Okay," the Slayer said as she finally got to her feet, "how many times do I have to kill you? Ballpark figure?" The Slayer's façade of confidence fell, and Daniel saw the worry that she had over this, and couldn't help but wonder himself. He had gotten a few shots off at the preacher, and the preacher had been gutted with the Scythe. Just how many times could he come back from seeming death?

"You understand nothing," Caleb replied darkly.

The Slayer ignored him, and spun, crying out as she put her strength into the blow, only for the handle to be caught once again. Pulling the weapon downward he punched the Slayer in the face then came back across with the same fist and hit her in the side of the head send her staggering off to the side.

Neither opponent wanted to release their grip on the Scythe once again, Daniel noted. If the situation weren't so serious, he would have compared their attitudes similar to kids fighting over a toy; a very dangerous toy, that is. Raising the Scythe up, Caleb delivered an uppercut that pinned the Slayer onto the ceiling for a few moments, and then he slammed the small blonde to the ground, where she lay for a second, dazed, before she began crawling back to her hands and knees.

Taking advantage of her slow movements, Caleb wrapped his hands around her throat, and brought the Slayer up to her feet. "You think you have power over me?" the First's Vessel snarled at the Slayer.

The Slayer glared in return and broke his hold, forcing him back; she then leaped in the air and delivered a two-kick combo into his face, knocking him to the ground.

"Stupid girl! You'll never stop," Caleb said, as he climbed to his feet as Buffy began twirling the Scythe in a complicated pattern before her next attack. "You don't have the-" Caleb was cut off, as the Scythe came from below in a golf swing like strike. The First Evil's Avatar gasped in pain, as one of his most vulnerable points was struck.

"Who does nowadays?" The Slayer asked the Avatar, as he stood before her gasping in pain, before she pulled the Scythe up - slicing Caleb into two pieces.

As the pieces fell to the ground, the vampire sprang to his feet, much to the surprise of Daniel, who had thought that he would be out longer than that. "All right! Now I'm pissed," Angel stated. "Where is he?"

The three people looked to either side of the Slayer, where half a preacher lay on either side. "He had to split," Buffy punned, before she started laughing at her own joke, as the stress of what she had been living through with that thing finally caught up with her once again.

Daniel frowned as he thought he heard something again, but passed it off as excitement from the fight. He watched in slight amusement, as they then continued their conversation as if nothing had just happened.

The girl was definitely related to Jack, if Daniel could make that assessment just for her dry brand of humor. Buffy made semi-witty comments about the information which she passed to Daniel, and the odd, ornate necklace that Angel was giving to her. Which was both very powerful, and very dangerous, if the source could be believed. The vampire seemed wary of the source, which was enough for the Slayer to eye the information as beadily as Jack did Tok'ra intelligence. 'The inscriptions would take a bit of time to work on as well,' he noted, and wondered if he would be able to get that kind of time before zero hour.

"It's supposed to bestow strength on the right person that wears it," the vampire said, nodding to the amulet.

"And the right person is?" Buffy asked, raising an eyebrow as she examined the gaudy amulet.

"Someone ensouled. But stronger than human. A champion. And it isn't me."

"Or me."

"No. I don't know nearly enough about this to risk you wearing it. Besides, you got that real cool axe thing going for you," Angel reminded Buffy, smiling slightly.

"Well, that description doesn't help us a whole lot anymore," Daniel said from his seat. "With our current numbers, it could be any one of our more than human members."

"True," Buffy said.

"More than human?" Angel questioned.

"I'll explain in a minute," the Slayer promised. "So you're going to be with me in this?" she questioned with traces of hope and doubt.

"Shoulder to shoulder; I'm yours," Angel promised the young woman.

The Slayer opened her mouth to say where she thought that she needed her first love, but stopped. If she couldn't stop the First Evil here with all of the power that her family, both by blood and love, brought, then there as no way that Angel and his group would be able to stop the hordes of monsters to come, no matter how good they were. "All right," she conceded, "but there is a condition."

Angel smiled at this; he had expected the Slayer to put up some kind of fight, maybe even make up some kind of excuse to get him to leave. "All right, what's that?"

"No trying to fight, or kill, anyone on our side, no matter what your personal feelings are toward them. Or I will boot you out of town so fast it'll make your head spin," she warned him, gazing seriously into his dark eyes.

The dark garbed vampire sighed at this condition. "Is this about Spike?"

The Slayer looked at him worriedly.

"You're not telling me something. The scent?" Angel added, tapping the end of his nose. "I remember it pretty well."

"Um, can we finish this after we save the others?" Daniel asked, pointing toward the stairs where the occasional bursts of weapon fire was being heard.

The Slayer sent him a thankful smile. "I like that idea."

"Seems like a good one, but we are finishing this conversation later," Angel said glaring at the Slayer slightly.

"Dealy-o," agreed Buffy, matching Angel's glare.

"Good, so who's the new guy?" he said, nodding toward Daniel, as the man climbed to his feet.

"A friend of the family. Kinda," Buffy replied.

"Kinda?"

"Part of that long story."

"You sure we don't have time for the Cliffs Notes version?" he asked worriedly. She may have won this fight, but she seemed a lot more stressed than she normally did when dealing with the end of the world type of things.

Buffy smiled at him. This was Angel, the original Mister Mysterious, but hating it when he didn't know what was going on. "Later."

"Okay then; to the rescue we go," he said, as enthusiastically as he could manage.

Daniel rushed up the stairs ahead of them, fumbling for a gun. Just as he reached the top of the stairs, a figure stepped out of the shadows and backhanded him, sending him flying back down the stairs. "Ouch," the man grumbled, as he slowly pulled himself back into a sitting position. 'Maybe I should have brought a chair, or at least a cushion,' he mused, as his fingers felt the back of his head.

"And so we meet once again, Dr. Daniel Jackson," a deep voice said.

Daniel put his glasses back on, and looked at the figure in front of him. "Seth, I presume?" he asked. While looking at the familiar figure before him, he also looked around for a weapon, since he seemed to have lost the last of his guns. Jack was never going to let him here the end of this one, he thought grimly, as he tried to stay off his injured arm.

"You would be correct, Dr. Jackson. I shall enjoy ripping you apart," the Goa'uld said, smiling cruelly at the figure that lay helplessly on the floor before him as he walked down the steps to finish the job.

"You know, pal, I just promised I wouldn't take out the preacher. I never said I wouldn't hurt you."

The two turned to see the vampire leaning against the wall, with the Slayer standing a bit behind him. He jumped up the few steps that parted them and grabbed the Goa'uld by the front of his shirt, and flung the alien across the room. "You don't mind if I play the hero with this guy, do you?" he asked, as he turned to look at the Slayer.

Buffy smiled at this. "No, go ahead and hero away; hate for you to think that you made the trip here all the way for nothing."

"Thanks," the vampire said, as he turned back to face the alien.

"Though, the whole business about me being the only one to enter is crap, and the Guardians need to seriously go over their security arrangements," the Slayer commented, as she looked at the figure before them.

The Goa'uld glared at the new arrival and challenger as he rose to his feet, its eyes flashing brighter for a moment. "You insolent fool! You dare to place your hands upon a god?"

"What? You think having glowing eyes makes you something special?" Angel asked mockingly, his face then shifted, as his eyes turned yellow and his brow rose, and a set of fangs grew from his mouth. "Trust me, I've met and beaten things that are much scarier looking than you."

"Very well, then, you inferior vermin, we shall see if you are more than boasts," the Goa'uld said, as it clenched its hands in anger.

"Bring it on, Bright Eyes," the leader of the Scourge of Europe and heir to the Aurelius line sneered at the minor Goa'uld.

"Very well, then prepare to die!" The Goa'uld rushed at Angel, swinging his right fist. The vampire ducked under the right cross, and came back up with an upper cut that knocked the alien back.

Shaking its head, the Goa'uld performed a spin kick, smashing its foot into the face of the vampire. Angel staggered backward as the blow connected. The alien then followed up with a couple of shots to the stomach.

Angel grabbed the Goa'uld in a hip lock, and tossed him into a wall. The Goa'uld's eyes flashed again, as it climbed back to its feet; Seth then plucked a sword from its resting place on the wall, and gave it a few twirls, as he adjusted to the weapon's weight.

"It figures," the cursed vampire muttered, "of all the walls I could throw you into, I had to choose the one with a weapon hanging on it."

"Silence, creature," Seth ordered, "it is time for you to die before me."

"Well, you see, there's just a bit of a problem with that plan," Angel mocked, as he ducked under a vicious swing. The vampire kicked Seth in the chest. The Goa'uld growled as he knocked Angel down. The Goa'uld held its weapon over the vampire.

"You see, I'm already dead," Angel said, as he rolled out of the way of the weapon that shot up sparks in the air as it struck the ground.

Methos watched silently from where he was lying on the ground, but could still see everything. He had to grudgingly admit that this vampire impressed him. He watched as the vampire ducked two more blows, and then jumped back from yet another slicing blow, though a thin red line was now decorating the front of his shirt where he hadn't moved far enough back. The Immortal thought the blow a bit deeper than the vampire had expected the Goa'uld to get, and was moving slightly more warily now. At this rate, the vampire would most likely be killed unless he, or was that it was helped. If he helped, the vampire might win, but if he left well enough alone and satisfied himself with just watching, then the First might begin to think that he was leaning toward its way of thinking, and that would give him some bargaining room if the First won. The Immortal stayed in the shadows where he had fallen, and watched to see how the fight would turn out.

The vampire backed up slightly, as the Goa'uld advanced on him.

"Catch!" Daniel called out, tossing a sword to the vampire, praying that he was making the right decision.

Angel spun around out of another deadly slice, and caught the sword; the two old weapons crashed against each other. The vampire grinned through his fangs, as they pushed against each other. The two broke away from the grapple, and eyed one another with greater caution, now that their fight had gotten slightly more deadly for the both of them. One was a parasitic creature that wanted to rule the universe, with over a thousand years of knowledge in combat and deceit, while the other was a cursed creature of the night that had put the fear in the bodies of human, demon and vampire alike. As the Scourge of Europe, he was one of the most feared beings with nearly two hundred years of unlife in this dimension, and about another hundred in a hell dimension.

Seth held his weapon in a standard fencing position while Angel had lowered himself into a crouch, as he watched the other being, unsure what sort of move he would make.

As one, they attacked each other, Angel going low, while Seth came in high. The vampire hissed as Seth's forward lunge brought the blade into his shoulder, while his own swing scored on striking the other in between the ribs.

"I shall grind your bones beneath my foot, you pathetic vermin," the Goa'uld spat at the Powers' Champion, before it ran at him again.

Angel moved out of the way of the blow just in time, though he did see the tail of his jacket flutter to the ground. "All right, now you're annoying me," the vampire said, as he reached out and felt the jagged spot where the back of his jacket used to hang. The vampire's foot lashed out and hit Seth's sword arm at the elbow; the vampire smirked as he heard the bone cracking under the blow.

Roaring unintelligibly, Seth rushed at the vampire and managed to body slam Angel into the wall. Seth then punched Angel a couple of times, since they were now too close to easily use their swords. The Goa'uld then grabbed the vampire by the front of his shirt, and tossed him over his shoulder.

Angel panted a bit from his spot on the floor, and didn't say anything as Seth stepped on his sword hand, slowly grinding his heel into the vampire's hand.

"That the best you got?" Angel asked after a moment.

"Trust me, vampire, you do not want me to truly give you my best," sneered the former System Lord.

"Your loss," Angel said, as his other hand shot out and grabbed the Goa'uld by the foot and flipped him, causing him to fall to the floor. Angel then jumped back to his feet, still holding his sword in a now mangled but quickly healing hand. Seth flipped himself up as well and stood facing the vampire.

"So does this guy have any weaknesses?" called Angel over his shoulder.

"Same as a human would, he's just stronger and faster," Daniel said from the floor, as the Goa'uld's weapon snaked out and made a small cut on Angel's shoulder. Had Angel not moved, he would have been stuck to the wall; instead he had only a minor wound.

"That's good to know," Angel said as he slashed again, this time knocking the sword up. Taking advantage of the opening, he rushed forward and dealt two punches and a knee to the Goa'uld, then ducked the counter-swing and managed to shove the Goa'uld away before it could make another strike. He then spun around with the blade fully extended, slicing a nice gash across Seth's stomach. Moving quickly, the vampire stabbed his sword deeper into the stomach of the alien. "Next time, how about you stay away from my girl, okay?" he asked as cheerfully as he could manage, before he kicked the Goa'uld off of his weapon, twisting it as he shook it off. Seth's eyes flashed bright yellow one more time in defiance, before he fell to the ground.

Angel grinned as he walked over to Buffy. The sword was placed on the floor. "Not bad for a bit of hero work," he said proudly.

"Yes, it was very good hero work," Buffy agreed, nodding and smiling at this somewhat lighter Angel. "And you were all dashing like, too, with the sword and all."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"Um, much as I hate to ruin a moment, but there are people who may or may not be dying up there," Daniel said, nodding toward the stairs. This shook the two of them out of their daydreams and had them heading toward the stairs.

"Look out!" shouted Methos weakly from his sprawl on the floor.

Angel spun around, and caught the cream colored thing that had leaped at the back of his head. The vampire looked oddly at the creature that squealed loudly at him, and writhed in his hand trying to get near his head. "So, what kind of fish do you catch with a worm this big?" he asked, as he snapped its back in one swift motion.

Daniel shook his head at this. Jack called them snakes, and this guy called them worms, when in reality, he guessed, they looked like a cross between the two things. Still, he couldn't really complain what he called them, as long as Seth was dead.

"Hey Meth, you okay?" Buffy asked, as she checked on the Immortal, who gasped for breath as he finally came fully back to the land of the living.

The Immortal nodded, gazing at the split halves of the preacher and the remains of a human lying against the wall with his stomach cut open- a very painful way to die. He should know; he had killed a number of people that way.

"Well come on, we have to go save the army again," the Slayer said, smirking at Angel.

Death fumed as he got back up and followed after the others. He had hoped that the military would lose some of their forces so that he could see how dedicated to saving the world they really were. Sometimes the military had strange ideas.

The group climbed up the steep steps as fast as they could, staying low to the ground as several blasts of energy came flying through the door. They heard the rattle of a couple of guns, and a few Latin words; evidently a few wizards had been drawn into the fight as well.

"Don't suppose any of you guys have a plan on how to get out of here?" Daniel asked hopefully, as he ducked under a red beam of light that had come a little to close to his head.

"Hey, these are the people that you usually fight, we thought that you would have a plan!" Buffy shot at him, as she ducked an angry purple blast of fire. "And to quote Xander: 'Plan? We don' need no stinking plan.' 'Sides, don't you have some kind of super laser gun or something that can get us past this?"

"Sorry, I left all my super laser cannons back at the base," Daniel informed her with his dry sarcasm.

"Can the boys we left outside give us some cover so that we can get out of here?" Methos asked. He really didn't like being a stationary target, and now that the temple had served its purpose, he supposed that it would be too much to hope that it would stay up. So, in his opinion, getting out would be a really good idea right now.

"Only one way to find out." Daniel reached for his radio. "This is Dr Jackson, can you guys give us some covering fire while we get out of here?"

"I'm afraid not, sir, they've got us pretty much pinned down at the moment," came the harried reply.

"Looks like we're stuck here for the moment," Daniel said, as he watched the others duck a few more multicolored blasts that could be the assault from either magical or Jaffa weapons.

"Great," was the muttered response from the others, as they watched the blasts sail overhead.

"Can we call in any more backup?" asked Angel.

Daniel shrugged, and changed the station on his radio. "Hey Jack, is there any chance on you being able to send more troops to relieve us? We're kind of pinned down at the moment."

"You and just about everyone else," Jack's voice said in return. "Seems like everyone is getting attacked, and I already sent some wizards to help your people on guard duty out."

"Yeah, well, they're all kind of busy trying not to get shot, Jack. Looks like the bad guys have reinforcements as well. On the good side, though, Seth is dead this time."

"Really? Old Snakeface dead? Someone must have gotten lucky," O'Neill remarked dryly.

"Yeah, so what's this about everyone getting attacked?" Buffy asked, taking the radio from Daniel.

"Just what I said; the guard station, the mansion, the base camp, and even the kiddies' camp are all being attacked by various people," replied Jack.

"All right, keep us posted," Buffy requested.

"Will do," the Colonel returned. "O'Neill out."


	23. Clash of the Titans

No fancy disclaimer for this chapter but we do have a fight in here to make up for the lack of torture.

* * *

**Clash of the Titans **

Harry Potter sighed in annoyance as he watched the various members of the Order watch him and the other two closely. They had managed to sneak past all of Britain, the ocean, and across the entire U.S.; you'd think that would entitle them to some consideration, but rather than being able to do that they would rather, he and the other two sat here doing nothing. He was muttering to himself, while Hermione was immersing herself in some book or other.

"So, now what? I mean, we did come all this way to help, not to be babysat," Ron growled, as he tossed the card castle he had been making to the side. "What's the point in us being here at this mansion if there's nothing for us to do?"

Hermione looked over the edge of her book at her friends. "I agree with Ron on this. We came here to help people that need our help, but the Order is trying to control us yet again."

Harry nodded at his friends. "When Buffy comes back, we explain the situation to her. Till then, I suggest we try and find out what it is that we can - maybe we can pick up on some info that will help us out as well." The other two nodded at their friend's plan, though they knew it would be hard to listen in, what with Moody watching them like a hawk. The old Auror obviously felt responsible for having let the trio escape from the Order and Ministry.

They watched as a number of witches and wizards were being called; even Hagrid was getting called away, leaving Remus and a handful of others to stay.

"Looks like things are starting to heat up," Ron said, "they're moving way too many people for this to be a simple reinforcement. Something big is going on."

"Agreed," Harry said, frowning, "but we're not being left with an awful lot of people here." The teen shivered as he felt an uneasy feeling of dread loom up on him. "Oh, not here," the black-haired boy growled, as he turned to see a group of Dementors heading in their direction.

"Remus! We've got company!" Harry yelled as he rose quickly, his wand sliding into his hand. Everyone that was waiting turned to look at the approaching monsters.

Remus paled as he saw the creatures.

"Who are the Lord of the Ringsrejects?" a voice asked, as Dean Winchester pulled out a shotgun, and drew a bead on one of the creatures coming closer. The young man didn't like those things, and the closer they got, the more he heard his mother screaming, and heard the sounds of her body being engulfed in flames. "Wrong thing to do, assholes," the man said, as he blinked the tears away.

"Get out of here, you can't do anything." Remus growled, as he shot a silver looking dog toward the group of approaching monsters.

"Like hell I can't," the younger man returned, as he fired into the black cloak. An inhuman screech filled the air as the rock salt round tore through the Dementor.

"How can you even see it?" Remus asked in surprise.

"Kind of hard to miss a big ugly thing like that," the blonde man returned, as he reloaded his gun. Another Dementor came at the demon hunter while his hands were empty. Dean dropped the gun, and reached for the gun under his jacket, already knowing he was too late, as inside his head, he could hear his father's disapproving voice start berating him for sloppy work.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" three young voices cried out. Everyone turned and watched as a giant silver stag led an otter and a misty creature that didn't seem to have any real form at the Dementors. The three Patronuses knocked the main group of Dementors back, giving Sam a chance to try the brothers' flamethrower.

"Hell, yeah!" Dean cheered, as he shot at another black-cloaked demon. "Any idea what these things are, Sammy boy?" he hollered.

"They're unknown killers," Sam replied tersely. The flamethrower was having trouble in staying lit. "I've read a book or two that has brief mentions of them; rock salt hurts them a bit, and fire slows them down. Other than that, though, we got nothing."

"Damn," Dean growled, as he tried for a headshot on the thing that was trying to come around from the other side. He watched as a silver werewolf darted out of the wand of another witch and began snapping at the heels of another one of the demons. "How long do you think that we can last against these S.O.B.'s?"

"Not sure, though the wizards don't seem to be having a whole lot more luck than we are."

Dean nodded, though he did notice that the silver things they shot out of those wands were making a lot more of the bitches run off, especially the deer one.

Sam let out a relieved sigh as the black things finally backed off, the memories of Jess those things had brought back up were not ones that he had wanted to repeat. Just when he was starting to heal over that mess, those demons had to go and reopen those old wounds. He pointed the flamethrower down and looked blankly at it.

Remus shook his head a bit as he pulled out several pieces of chocolate and began passing them out to various people. Watching Sirius die and reliving the night he became a werewolf were not things that he particularly enjoyed. "Are you all alright?" he asked worriedly, as he looked at the trio, Tonks and the two Muggle brothers.

"Perfect," Harry growled out, as the face of Dumbledore finally left his eyes. "Don't stop watching," Harry cautioned harshly, as everyone but the Muggles were watching him anxiously. "That was probably the first wave."

"Kid's right, don't let your guards down just yet," Dean advised, as he listened to the soundless night. And he meant soundless; it wasn't like other towns where he could hear the chirp of some animal or other. There was actually no sound whatsoever anywhere around them. The animals are definitely smarter than the humans in this town, it seems, the blonde thought wryly to himself, as he continued looking around for a threat.

"I really don't like this," Sam muttered as he eyed the various buildings carefully, looking for whatever it was that might be coming. The next thing they all knew, they, like several other people in town, were assaulted by new images.

* * *

Snikt, snakt; snikt, snakt. Wolverine sheathed and unsheathed his claws in boredom, as he sat on the porch and waited for someone to attack the place. He couldn't understand it; according to their information, this place was always being attacked by either the Bringers or by some of those super vampires. Personally, he wouldn't mind getting a chance at some of those vamps, they sounded like they might actually be a bit of a challenge.

The feral mutant turned to look at the figure that was sitting on the porch next to him calmly sharpening a number of throwing knives, and a few staffs with pointed ends. The girl wasn't too bad company even of she did smoke those little kid cigs. Kitty and Rogue were around somewhere as well; the two girls were pretty good at finding quiet shadows to sit and wait for something to happen.

It was something that he respected.

"So tell me, did you have to mail in for those?" Faith asked, as she looked at the weapons the guy had.

"Getting these was no walk in the park, girlie," Logan grumbled at the woman. "Imagine having liquid metal poured over yer bones, and then ya multiply whatchya think it'd feel like by a thousand, and you get an idea of how bad it probably felt."

"Hmm, sounds like a real shit load of fun," Faith said dryly. "Just how sharp are those things?"

"Got a knife ya don't want around?"

The girl nodded, as she drew a wicked looking hunting knife from the small of her back. "Yeah, I do," she said, as she ran her finger over the weapon's edge.

Wolverine took the weapon in his hands and examined it carefully. The blade was well balanced, the grip was also made to fit the young woman's hand, and it smelled of blood and death. This little toy had been used to take quite a few people out.

"The way ya were holding this thing, darlin', I presume that this toy has a story ta tell. A story that ya sure ain't proud of, either. How'm I doin'?"

"Lot damn closer than I'd like," the woman said, as she looked at the blade with a mixture of pride and disgust.

"Yeah? Well, that's too bad for you, darlin'. I think ya should hang onta this blade though, and let yerself redeem both it - and maybe you."

"Easy for you to say," the young woman said bitterly. She accepted the weapon back reluctantly and just stared at the blade in her hand. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she looked at her distorted reflection on the blade. "I don't even know why I took it, but B insisted that I take it. She said I could do what I wanted with it, but that it was rightfully my knife, and that she wasn't going to give it to someone else." She gripped the knife tightly, and Wolverine noted that the handle was strong enough to withstand the iron grip that the girl had on it. She then slid it back into its hidden sheath at her back.

"She must think that you had to deal with that thing sooner or later, and thought that the sooner it got taken care of, then the sooner you'd be less distracted. Girl uses a lot of dumb blond comments, but she seems to have a bit of an idea of who - and what - she actually is," the mutant noted. "Not sure how she can be a Summers with those qualities."

"Yeah, well that's B for ya; always hiding what she really is and wants. I merely peeled back her wilder side a few times, and I wouldn't be surprised if she had more layers than we know. Let me tell you though, I'm glad it's her in charge and not me. If it was, we would have a disaster."

"Don't sell yerself short 'cause ya screwed up, kid. Blondie screwed up when she took on that winery the first time, as well." The mutant pointed out to the girl.

"Yeah? Well, because of me a lot of girls are dead, and a lot more of them nearly did die because they were having to protect me from those uber vamps, 'cause I was too out of it to fight. Shit! I was s'posed to protect them, not the other way around!" The young woman kicked her foot through one of the remaining rails on the porch angrily.

"Yeah, it was obviously yer fault that yer still human," Wolverine stated dryly.

"Don't mock me, pal, metal in your head or not, I'll still send you through the wall if I have to," Faith warned.

"I'll heal, kid. You need to get over yer feelin' like yer a failure, though. So you ain't the best of leaders? Neither am I, but we make damn good subs, and we're better with the one on one stuff, anyways. Now, how about you shape up already, and stop sulking, 'cause ya made a mistake in war. We all make mistakes; the question is, though, can ya still fight, or are ya gonna freeze up on us?"

"When the action starts, I'll be there," Faith promised.

"Good, that's what I like ta hear," Wolverine said, patting her on the back.

"Hey, Wolvie," a voice said over the communicator hidden in the buckle of the X-Man's belt. "You still there?"

"I'm still here, squirt, what's up?"

"Not sure, but there's something strange going on over at the outpost that those soldiers have. There was a lot of movement over there a few minutes ago, and we thought it was just a change in shifts, but then we remembered that that was like five minutes ago."

"Stay alert, pumpkin; I think we're about ta have some company," Wolverine said, he raised his head slightly and sniffed at the air. Yep. He recognized the stench that was coming at him. The Hand. He growled out darkly to himself. 'Looks like those idjits wanna go another round with me.' He paused and wondered just how he knew it was the Hand... for that matter, who were the Hand? The image of ninjas, dressed in black and dark red, with eyes that seemed to glow, came to mind. He focused on the memory, and watched as a sword gutted one and the body seemed to disappear into smoke, leaving nothing but the clothes and weapons. An old man wielding a pair of swords followed the image; then a man in a flashy red, white and blue outfit carrying a round shield of some kind, and a flash of a girl with red hair.

"Something up?" asked Faith quietly, looking around as she spoke.

"Yeah, something..." Wolverine said, as he tasted the air for any other unfriendly, dangerous scents. "Be alert," he warned her as he slipped into the shadows, leaving the dark haired Slayer alone in the middle of the porch.

"He never did show me how sharp those claws of his were," the Slayer complained to herself, as she watched the night.

Wolverine strode out to the middle of the street. "Show yerselves, you Anime rejects!" He then crouched down and unsheathed his claws. SNIKT!

"Faith, what is he doing?" Giles asked as he came to the door.

"Personally, I ain't too sure, but I think it would be better if you stayed inside till we can figure out what's going on," Faith shot at the Watcher, who nodded in agreement and shut the door.

The shadows seemed to come to life as a hundred members of the Hand slipped out of the various shadows surrounding the house.

"Genin," the mutant said, nodding to the various warriors that stood at the ready; their weapons glinted under the meager light.

"Wolverine," the spokesman of the night said. "Tonight, the Hand gets our vengeance on you, for your crimes against our kind."

"That a fact?" Wolverine asked. "Mind telling me what it is that I did to ya that made you and yer kind hate me like this?"

The ninja stiffened at this. "You talk as if you know not of the crimes against our kind that you have committed, yet you know us; for your words have betrayed you."

"Losing yer memory is a real pain, bub, just the occasional flash is all that I really have, and those mainly have to do with these." The mutant held a clenched fist up and displayed his claws. "I know yer called the Hand, and that yer level are called Genin. Other than that, I ain't got any ideas who or what ya clowns are, or what I did ta piss ya off enough to come after me with all of those fancy pig stickers."

"We are the mighty Hand of the First, gaijin and we will be the ones to finally send you on to your ancestors."

"I don't think so, bub," Wolverine growled at them menacingly. "It'll take a hell of a lot more than a bunch of pajama boys like ya ta take me down."

"Which is why we have come as well, gaijin," a new voice said, as two new figures leaped from the window where a team of soldiers had been positioned.

"Let me guess, yer the leaders of this band of cutthroats?" the mutant said, noticing that there were differences in the way they dressed as compared to the others. One was an older man who was dressed in some kind of fancy Japanese shogun robes, while the other was dressed in black ninja garb and wearing a familiar red demon mask. Wolverine inhaled the scents, they were both known to him, but while one tickled the edges of his thoughts, the other was one that he recognized, since he had only smelled it a few months ago.

"Surprised to see me, Logan-San?" the demonic masked one asked. "Now, where is my Honored Daughter? We have much catching up to do."

"She ain't yers, mas-Ogun."

The figure chuckled at this. "Ah...even after all that has happened you still find it hard not to call me by the name that is my right."

"Dunno 'bout that one, bub, seeing how I killed ya the last time that we danced; I figure I might be the big cheese now."

"Yes, I owe you for that one, Logan-san. Hand ninja, attack!"

Before the first weapon could be drawn, though, each person froze.

* * *

"What did ya think you were doing ta th' boy?" the half giant asked, as he cast a worried looked down at the weakened mutant Russian boy. Hagrid hated it when something like this happened.

"Watch how the grownups do it, kid!" Juggernaut cried out to Colossus. He walked up to an abandoned MR2, and tossed the small car at the big man.

Hagrid nodded, as he set his feet to catch the incoming missile that was flying his way. Both of the large men were surprised when a new figure came seemingly out of nowhere and caught the car in their hands.

Clark carefully set the small car down before he turned to the armored man. "We don't have to do this," the teen tried, "we can all stop right now, and no one else has to get hurt here."

"Kid, do ya honestly think that you can stop me?"the Juggernaut asked mockingly.

"I can stop you." The teen assured the man assuredly, he then sent a blast of heat at Juggernaut.

The man looked down at his chest plate as two small singes now decorated his armor. "That the best ya got?"

Before the teen could answer, a black and red blur came up from behind Clark and slammed into him. The two men watched as Clark was tossed across the road into a statue of a Mayor Wilkins.

Clark shook his head as he looked up at the person that had just slammed into him. To say that he was shocked would have been an understatement, as his jaw fell in surprise at the person that stood before him. "Kal-El," the farm boy whispered in near silent shock.

"That's right, Clark Kent," his double said, as he looked over the edge of the sunglasses that were sliding off his nose. "The improved version of you is here to play."

"I'd hardly say that you're an improved version," Clark returned warily.

"Oh, that was just a real witty comeback, Clark. Did you think of it yourself, or did you have to get Chloe to think it up for you?" Clark swallowed nervously at this, causing his double's smirk to grow larger. "What farm boy? Surprised that I know about Miss Wall of Weird Chloe? Please; I am you in a roundabout sort of way, and I know all about Chloe, Lana, Pete, Lex, and Dr. Swann. Hey, now there's an idea," the dark Kryptonian said, snapping his fingers, as if he had just thought of something monumental. "Let's go and see the good Doctor, shall we? Catch me if you can." Another instant and he was gone, as he ran off.

"Think you can handle this guy?" a pale farm boy asked the larger man.

"Yeah, go on, I can deal with this 'un," Hagrid said, waving the boy on after his double.

"Thanks." The boy was then gone in a blur as well.

"That would be a useful trick ter have," the half-giant muttered, as he turned back to the armored figure.

"So I guess that means it's just you and me now, eh, fuzz face?" Juggernaut said, as he stretched himself out.

"I guess so," Hagrid mumbled, as he eyed the man warily.

Juggernaut nodded, and wrenched a stop sign out of the street.

Hagrid walked to the other side of the street and jerked out a yield sign.

The two largest of the two sides stood together facing each other.

Witches and wizards apparated in, followed by a handful of various other people. Xander stood with the Charmed Ones, the Potentials, and Connor, watching from the shattered wall and window; the X-men dropped to a rooftop, unobserved by most of the people.

"Do we interfere, Professor?" Scott asked. He knew all about Juggernaut, A.K.A Cain Marko and what he was capable of doing.

"I'm afraid not, Scott. If we were to interfere, then I'm afraid someone could be seriously hurt."

"That they would be; I almost wish I could sell tickets to this thing, though," a voice said.

The group turned to see the Slayer standing by them and watching.

The First smirked and changed in a flash of light.

Xavier's blood turned cold, as he looked in shock as his mother stood there before him. "What's the matter, Charles, nothing to say to me?" the woman asked sweetly. The figure morphed and his father stood there, a man that had died more than fifty years ago in an explosion. "One such as you should never have come here, Xavier. Your life is so full of loss and pains that you can never admit to." The figure shifted again to take on the image of Gabby Haller, a woman that he had loved dearly till she had been driven insane.

It had also been the day that he and Eric had parted ways.

"You'll find it will take more than former loves and parents to rattle me," Xavier said coolly.

"And what of you, Beauty? The figure said, as the form flashed into a dark skinned woman with blue eyes. Storm swallowed in fear, as she saw her mother with her eyes for the first time in years.

"Mother," the weather controller choked out.

"You have turned into such a beauty, Ororo; your father would have been proud. Despite the bad blood in you that gives you your powers." Storm flinched at this, and took a step back.

The figure then turned to the two Summers men, flashing again into a brown haired woman. The two stiffened at the form. "As for you two, I leave you with this: The family you yearn for is hidden within the life of pirates, vengeance and stars."

"Until we meet again, X-Men." In another flash, the figure was gone, and they all let loose the breaths that they had been holding unconsciously.

"That was not something I wanted to see," Alex grumbled.

"Agreed, but now be silent, I think that all will wish to see this," Xavier said as he brought his hands to the sides of his head, and reached out with his mind and touched all of the minds still in the city that were not already here watching. Whether they were people fighting for the dark, light or of the shadows he touched them and let them see through the eyes of some of the others here. Everyone froze in what they were doing, as new images came to there minds.

Everyone watched willingly and unwillingly, as the two figures stood there with their hastily scavenged weapons held ready. Like this, they were only two immense beings of destruction, which at the moment had only each other in their sights. They paused for a moment, then charged at each other, their weapons reflecting a few lights back into the night. The two swung their weapons fiercely, the signs used with such power that they shattered as they connected. The two men tossed the useless metal remnants away, and prepared to go at it hand to hand. They swung at each other so hard that their twin blows knocked each of the two figures back several feet.

Juggernaut rubbed his chest as he had got back up; he had actually felt that shot.

The two Titans charged again. This time, though, there would be no messing around. These two were near equals, and it was time to find out which one was actually the weaker of the two.

Hagrid glared coldly at the other large man in a manner that would have surprised a number of the wizards and witches that had known him just as the simple Groundskeeper and Keeper of the Keys, who had always had a fairly nice word for nearly everyone, no matter what. Hagrid looked more like the dangerous part giant right now that Rita Skeeter had accused him of being. Hagrid realized that this was a fight that he was going to have to go all out at if he was to win; he accepted that, and there was a brief flash of sadness that was quickly stowed away, even as he felt his clothes getting heavier.

Looking down, he saw that his clothes and long coat had been transfigured into a type of cloth-like metal that should protect him somewhat. The clothes then glowed for a moment, as protective charms were added. The half-giant nodded his head in thanks to Flitwick and McGonagall as they finished altering his clothes.

The two professors observed their handiwork worriedly, as their friend headed into battle.

Juggernaut grinned maliciously; now things had just gotten even more interesting. "So, ya think that new outfit will help ya? I'll tear that fancy stuff off of ya, and slam it down yer throat!" Saying this, the Juggernaut lowered his head and charged, intending to slam the big man through a few walls to soften him up a bit.

The half-giant braced himself, but was thrown into another building despite what he had done.

Juggernaut smiled at this as he released the man. He was the unstoppable Juggernaut, and not even this guy would be able to stop him! He then laced fingers together, and slammed his two fists into Hagrid's stomach; Marko then knocked the walls and ceiling down on top of the half-giant. Juggernaut chuckled with satisfaction; no one got up after he buried them, especially after a handful of blows like those.

He stepped back and admired his handiwork. Then, to the shock of the Avatar and several others, the stones practically blew apart as a figure stormed out of the remains of the building.

Everyone watched intently; the half-giant had gone from righteous protector to raging warrior. The difference this time, as opposed to the other times he had lost his control, was that there was no Dumbledore to talk him down anymore. Growling angrily, Hagrid lunged at Juggernaut, and dealt him several shots to the stomach and arms before he sent a wicked left hook that knocked Juggernaut up into the air, through where a second-story window should be, and through both the glass and a part of the wall.

Cain Marko scowled at the fact that he had been caught like that; no one did that to him. He was the unstoppable Juggernaut! People trembled in fear when he walked by, afraid that this would be the place that he would decide to trash. He _never_ lost, ever, and it was time the bozo learned why the world feared the wrath of the Juggernaut! Striding over to the window, he walked out, and leaped down to the ground, landing on his feet next to the half-giant. "Now, where were we?" he asked, as he sucker punched a startled Hagrid. Hagrid stumbled back swinging blindly grazing the other man forcing him back. "Come on, wild man, surely you can do better than that," he taunted through lips that were starting to swell from being hit.

The half-giant came forward, and delivered a right cross that sent Juggernaut flying halfway down the block. Juggernaut's flight was stopped when he slammed into a truck, crumpling the side of the vehicle. He lay there against the truck, stunned. Hagrid uprooted a large tree and slammed it into Juggernaut's chest; the mighty tree broke as it connected with him.

Juggernaut glared at the man before him as he got back up, he was beginning to get tired of fighting this guy, and he had come to deal with that freak of a stepbrother of his and his little cult members, not fight some fuzz face with an accent! Still, he was proving to be a really good fighter, he thought to himself, as he tore the door off the truck and threw it.

Hagrid ducked under the metal and tackled the man. The two went rolling across the street, as they both tried to force the other one down. Juggernaut grunted as they slammed into the side of the ornamental stairs that led up to the museum. The two men kicked off of each other the moment that they stopped rolling. Hagrid went flying into one of the few remaining cars on the block, while Juggernaut was pushed deep into the stonework of the stairs.

The two paused where they had been slammed and caught their breaths for a moment. It had been sometime since either of them had been in such a long drawn out one on one fight. Hagrid hadn't actually been in a fight that lasted half this long in a couple of decades. No one had ever challenged him this much before, though those two vampires had forced him to keep moving.

Juggernaut glared at the big figure. His gem should have given him the power to crush anyone that dared get in his way. Yet, here was this jerk that had dared to do such a thing; and what was more, they appeared to be nearly equals in power. He was sure he was stronger, but this Hagrid seemed to have slightly better protections. Their fighting styles were also similar enough that neither of them seemed to be able to block the others blows, since they were in the middle of hitting the other.

The two men stumbled back to their feet and readied themselves again. Hagrid was ready a hair faster, and slammed a fist into Juggernaut's shoulder.

Marko grimaced, as he felt something inside his arm pop where the half-giant had hit. Gritting his teeth and steeling himself for pain that he knew he would be feeling later, he delivered several punches to Hagrid's ribs, grinning as he heard them cracking as he connected. The car that Hagrid had slammed into a few minutes ago exploded and knocked the two back into the stairs.

The two pulled themselves up, and Hagrid wiped the blood out of his face. "You really should give up, an' stay down," Juggernaut said gruffly, flicking his head to one side to get some of the blood out of his face.

"Can't do that lad, I let Dumbledore down, I won't make the same mistake with Harry and McGonagall," replied Hagrid, as he pushed some of his long, shaggy hair out of his eyes.

"What's the matter big guy, you got some guilt over some old fossil dying?" Juggernaut had heard this particular story several times from the Death Eaters over the past several days. He also had learned enough to know this was likely to be a sore spot for the half-giant.

The half-giant's eyes flashed dangerously.** "NO ONE INSULTS ALBUS DUMBLEDORE AROUND ME!"** the shaggy haired man exclaimed, as he ran at Juggernaut and slammed himself into Marko, surprising the Avatar with the amount of anger being thrown at him. All of the half-giant's grief and rage over his friend and protector's death came out, as he began smashing his fists into the small bits of face that were visible through the dome helmet. Changing tactics, he grabbed Juggernaut by the shoulders and kneed him in the gut, then slammed his head into the ground repeatedly.

Gathering himself together, Juggernaut managed to knock Hagrid off him, and then began running with him till they slammed into the side of a building and went through that, and stopped with Juggernaut pinning Hagrid to the wall.

The enraged half-giant grabbed his opponent, and flung him around into the wall beside him. His foot then caught the former soldier in the stomach, and the man felt something give as the foot, the size of a trash can, connected. He backhanded the groundskeeper back into another wall. The two broke each other's grips, and swung at each other again. The two fists actually hit each other, causing a small sonic explosion that shattered all of the glass and sent plaster raining down on top of them.

The two ignored the new white film that lay everywhere, and slammed their fists together again, this time causing another boom. A creaking sound was heard this time, and was the only warning they had before the entire building collapsed on top the two of them.

Figures from both sides rushed over and stood near the building as the dust began to settle to the ground.

"Are they dead yet?" a figure asked, as the last of the obvious dust settled to the ground.

"Good question," another figure muttered.

They were all surprised a minute later. As the two erupted from the remains everyone held their breaths.

The two were now covered in injuries. "So, you give up yet?" Juggernaut asked sneeringly, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Nevah," Hagrid gasped out.

Some of the onlookers noticed that the bad grammar of the half-giant sounded worse than ever, and a few people saw that something was wrong with his jaw.

The two began grappling again, and somehow Hagrid managed to break the clasps on the dome shaped helmet. The thing came off in his hands; at that, not bothering to look surprised, Hagrid began slamming the man with his own helmet.

Juggernaut fell to the ground, one meaty hand going to his cheek. It came away bloody, from a fresh, large cut where the edge of his own helmet had caught him and opened him up.

Xavier smiled; Hagrid had opened up the one weakness that his stepbrother had.

Growling, the half giant brought the helmet down as hard as he could. At the same time, Juggernaut was coming up.

The watching crowd heard two distinct sounds: a crack, as Hagrid's leg gave way and a loud _gong_ing sound as the entire strength of the half-giant was used in knocking the huge mutant unconscious.

Hagrid dropped the helmet wearily and looked at the man sprawled out on the ground. He then weakly hobbled a few steps back, before he fell down beside the giant metal dome shaped helmet, and passed out in exhaustion.

"Quickly, we must get down there," Xavier said urgently. "Peter and Mr Hagrid need our help now." He felt all of the other people go back to what they had been doing; unfortunately, he was needed here and couldn't look too deeply into their thoughts over what was happening to them. The only thing he knew was that they were fighting.

Charles felt an odd jerking sensation, and then he was between his stepbrother and Hagrid. Reaching out with his mind he entered Cain's mind, and came upon the psychic imprint of his brother._ "Hello, Cain; I see that, once again, you have been causing trouble,"_ Xavier said as he regarded his stepbrother. The stepbrothers-turned-mortal enemies stared at each other as Xavier connected their minds. The two looked like they had during the war.

Cain Marko and Charles Xavier looked around as they found themselves back in the place they had last stood as simply two soldiers. The two of them had once again returned to the temple of Cyttorak.

_"This is not the time for us to fight, Cain, but rather unite against this threat. Is this destruction really what you want for the world?"_ the younger image of Charles Xavier pled with his stepbrother.

_"Don't get it, do you, brother? I don't care one bit about the world! All I care about is proving once and for all that I'm better than you!"_ The image of Cain began growing, the army uniform ripped at the seams, and in the place of Cain Marko, The Juggernaut now stood.

_"One of these days, that temper of yours is going to get you in trouble, Cain. Particularly when you add in those bitter feelings of yours toward me,"_ chided Xavier.

_"That may be, brother, but you sure won't be around when I finally do go down. You can't escape me every time...and one of these days, I will get you." _

_"Perhaps, Cain, but that day is not today. Though since you refuse to help us, I shall simply have to lock you up for now."_ Unseen by Juggernaut, Charles began manipulating the energies of this mind-space to his will, concentrating fiercely while seeming cool and calm on the surface.

_"HAH! No cage can hold me brother,"_ Juggernaut said smugly, as he crossed his huge arms over his chest.

_"Not a regular one, no; but this shall be a cage with no walls for you to tear down either, Cain."_ Charles' voice seemed to echo strangely for a moment.

_"What are you talking about, Charles?"_ The words were no sooner out of the Juggernaut's mouth than gigantic chains appeared from the air and wrapped around Juggernaut, imprisoning him within his own mind for the moment.

_"No, you can't do this! I was so close to winning!"_ wailed Marko furiously, struggling against the restraints.

_"No Cain, you weren't,_" Xavier explained, a hint of sadness in his cool baritone. _"You lost to the half-giant, though I have to admit that there were several close calls."_

_**"NOOO!"**_ Cain Marko's voice echoed inside his head, as Xavier returned to his own mind and body.

Xavier woke up to the real world and looked down at his brother.

"Oh, Cain. You can be quite stubborn sometimes," Xavier said softly, looking pityingly at the unconscious man.

"Well, what do we do with him now?" a soldier asked, as he gingerly toed the massive figure.

"To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure," the mutant leader of the X-Men admitted. "I don't quite know what would be able to hold him when he's like this."

The soldier who had spoken shrugged. "It was worth a shot, Sir; we'll just move him out of the way. Too bad we can't send him to a prison planet though," the soldier muttered as he eyed the big man.

"Take him to a warehouse or something for now," Xavier ordered, "Hopefully he'll stay out of it for the rest of the fight."

The soldier nodded, and began bellowing orders for a forklift and a flatbed to move the man. "And how is our dear Mr. Hagrid?" Xavier questioned, as he rolled over to the man that had just saved his student.

A woman was waving a wand at the man and making faces while she did. "It would be much easier if I could heal him like a regular patient, but due to his unique heritage he is annoyingly resistant to a number of spells. Including nearly every healing spell I know of," she added crossly under her breath. The woman paused in her motions and glared menacingly at the half-giant, as if it was somehow his fault that he was resisting her attempts to heal him.

"I see," Xavier said worriedly. Looking up from the unconscious Hagrid, his eyes scanned for a familiar figure, and spotted the person he sought crouched beside an Army doctor beside Colossus.

"Hank," he thought sent to his former student.

"Yes, Professor?" McCoy's ears twitched, but he managed to keep his dialogue with Doctor West, the Army physician, going as he mind-spoke with Charles.

"I require your assistance with Hagrid; please bring your medical bag," Xavier requested.

"Of course, Professor," the blue furred mutant returned.

Grabbing his bag, he then began leaping and flipping toward the group. Beast took a moment to look at the destruction that had come from the two fights, and couldn't help but shudder slightly.

Colossus obviously needed more training before he tried to take on someone like Juggernaut again, while the other fight had destroyed two or three different building, created a dozen or so pot holes, and lighted around a dozen different fires. Landing in a crouch beside the fallen man, Beast took out some of equipment and began to examine him.

"Hmm, it appears that our gargantuan comrade in arms has taken an extreme pounding on this eve, Charles. Offhand, I'd say he has been taken out of the struggle after this debacle, since he will need all of his strength to heal his multitude of grievances," Hank began.

"I see, and Colossus?" asked Charles gravely.

"The boy has several cracked ribs, one leg broken, the other has a twisted knee, and a dent in his metallic cranium that could result into a concussion when he finally decides to power down."

The medi-witch who had been hovering over Hagrid began an examination of the teen, and quickly summoned the small Charms professor to her side. The two of them then began the process of using their magic to heal the Russian, focusing on the dent in his head first.

The two mutants watched as Colossus' eyes fluttered open, and he somehow managed to hold back a scream of pain as his injuries were healed. He actually crushed a brick into a fine powder before they finally stopped.

Xavier smiled sadly at his student; his head injury was as repaired as was possible at the moment. They had just lost two of their bigger muscles though, and the final battle hadn't even begun yet. He couldn't help but feel as if that was partly his fault, since it had been his stepbrother that did this.

One of the wandless witches walked up to him, and smiled sweetly at his student.

"Once you get some more training, you'll be really dangerous," Phoebe assured him.

"Thank you," Colossus said, smiling weakly at the woman.

The young woman winked at the young Russian, and was gone off to another group.

"He'll probably have to stay off of his legs for a few days while the muscles and tissues re-grow," the medi-witch said.

"But... there is still so much to do!" Peter argued, as he finally returned to his human form.

"You are done, young man!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed. "Even with magic, you need to allow your body time to finish healing, or you risk damaging your legs more."

"But..."

"I'm afraid that I agree with her Peter; you are on the reserve list for the moment unless we need your strength, and there's no other way to do it." Xavier looked sternly at his student.

The teen sighed. "Very well, Professor. I shall attempt to do my best."

"You already have, Peter," Xavier told him proudly, as he turned to all of the people that had survived the fight.


	24. Around the World

**Around the World**

The texaswookie swallows nervously as he looks down at the busy street that is far down below. "So, what did I do wrong this time?"

"What did you do wrong?" A voice practically growled in rage from the shadows. "I'll tell you what you did wrong, you brought metas into MY CITY!"

"This is about the fact that I let Metas into your city?" The texaswookie asks, as a flash of lighting illuminates a demonic looking figure.

"Yes, and since there's nothing I can do about that right now I believe you have something to say."

"And if I don't?" The writer asks trying to sound brave.

The figure holding the writer grins. "Then I drop you and we see whether or not you can bounce."

"Geeze what a choice. Fine I'll do it. I the author of this crazy and impossible story do not claim any rights whatsoever to the characters in this story seeing as I would get my ass sued off if I tried. They belong to a multitude of different people and I'm to lazy to write all of their names down but they should be listed in earlier chapters if you really need to know."

"Good." The figure holding the writer says, and then throws the writer across the Pit. The writer screams as he falls six stories before he lands on a nearby ledge. The writer looks up where he had just been but the caped figure was already gone as mysteriously as he had appeared.

"At least it wasn't the Bat-Nipples version that tied me up." The writer says.

* * *

**Metropolis**

A red and blue blur shot across the highway racing from Sunneydale California to Metropolis Kansas. Clark Kent silently prayed that he would make it in time, as he tried to pour on a little bit of extra power. He never even noticed that his feet were no longer touching the ground as he move across the Colorado River. He finally reached Dr Swann's office, and quickly entered the building. The teen ignored the surprised and confused look that the receptionist gave him as he rushed past. "Hey wait, didn't you just..." The confused person said, trying to understand what was happening.

Clark traveled down the memorized hallway, and quickly entered one of the many offices that Dr Swann had here, and saw his other version standing there staring at Dr Swann who appeared to be stuck in a staring match with Kal-El. "Careful Dr Swann, he's dangerous." Clark warned, his eyes scanned the room, and he saw that his alter ego had taken the time to melt the wheels of the wheelchair to the floor.

Dr. Swann's eyes flicked over to Clark before returning to his double. "Kal-El, what is going on?" The scientist asked with concern, as he eyed the two boys, looking for anything that might be different about the two of them.

"Sorry Dr. Swann, but that's Kal-El, I'm Clark." The farm boy couldn't help but see the humor in the fact that now Dr Swann was finally getting to meet Kal-El and talk with Clark Kent at the same time. Maybe now the man would listen to him when he said that he was nothing like Kal-El, son of Jor-El, he was Clark Kent, son of Jonathan Kent."

"No Kal-El, you are the one of this plane of existence." The Dr. said with certainty, causing both of the boys to blink in surprise that the man could not already figure out who the double was, but what it was that had happened in so short of time. Clark hadn't figured it out yet, and Kal-El had had a few days to get used to the idea that there were two of them in the same reality.

Of course Kal-El also knew what would happen if the protective spell that altered his signature in this universe were to deactivate. That was why he intended to win and kill this goody good meddling scientist, his other self and anyone that got in the way. Once that was done then he would be the only Clark Kent that this universe had to accept. But why let the human know this? "You sure about that Terran? I mean how can you be so sure about who was raised here and who wasn't?" Kal-El asked ominously, he then kicked a nearby desk toward Clark.

Clark tried to catch the desk, but it shattered against his hands as he tried to stop it. "Maybe it's because you're an arrogant jerk." The farm boy suggested, as the two turned to glare at each other darkly with a wide range of emotions that were filled with hate, disgust, frear, curiosity, and uneasiness. They were now waiting for the other to make a move, knowing they would have only milliseconds to move once the fight got started.

Dr Swann eyed the two boys in fascination, as far as he could tell they were both Kal-El. At first he had presumed that Kal-El had foolishly run across some red meteor rocks, but some of the mannerisms were incorrect. When The Last Son of Krypton was infected with Red Kryptonite he was reckless and cocky with a slightly darker attitude, but he rarely was willing to go completely all the way. This being that stood before him though had none of the calm control that Kal-El normally had, even when he was under the influence of Red Kryptonite, which meant that he was not exactly what he seemed, and the possibility of alternate dimensions was not a foreign concept to him. The man hated to do this, but he feared that it was the only chance that he had at the moment to survive this confrontation and save the work that he had in this building. Flipping a switch on his chair it activated a signal in the room several sliding panel opened, and green kryptonite glowed as they registered the presence of the two boys, the two flinched away from the walls in surprise till they were back to back in the center of the room.

"That's your answer to all of this old man?" Kal-El asked chuckling at the attempts to hold him in. "You're going to use meteor rocks against me?" The alien bent his knees, and then jumped up into the air and slammed into the ceiling and went through it. He then climbed up through to the next floor that was above them. He dusted himself off, and looked down at a pale sweating Clark, who was shielding the pathetic old crippled man that had trapped him in there from the bits of ceiling that had fallen. "Have fun Clarkey, I need to go and see a guy that's keeping our secret." Kal-El then used his heat vision, and melted the rest of the supports on the ceiling, then sped out before the floor collapsed under him.

Clark watched helplessly, as Kal-El disappeared, he wanted to chase after him, but he couldn't leave Dr Swann either. He heard the creaking of the ceiling, and swallowed nervously as he looked at the door, which had three different meteor rocks around it. The rocks were effectively holding him in the room he was trapped inside and nearly helpless. "Hang on Dr. Swann!" Moving as fast as he could, he grabbed the back of Dr. Swann's chair, and used all of his strength to shove the man across the floor, and out of the room. He turned to look, as the ceiling collapsed on top of him.

"Kal-El!" Swann cried, as he looked over his shoulder at the room full of dust and derbies. He hadn't expected something like this to happen, this other version of Kal-El was much more confident in the use of his abilities than this dimensions was. The rubble shifted, and then blew apart as a weakened Clark Kent stumbled out of the office. A small cut on his cheek closed up, as he finally got out of the room. "You must hurry Kal-El." Swann informed him. "You must stop this dark version of you before he causes some type of irreversible damage to this reality."

"Right," Clark said nodding, "are you alright?"

"I am fine Kal-El, for now though you must save the ones that are in need of your aide."

"But shouldn't I help you?"

"My people are here, you must stop him."

"All right." Clark said.

"So who is it that does know of your secrets Kal-El?"

"Oh no Pete!" Clark took off in another blur, heading for Smallville.

"Good Luck Kal-El." The man whispered, turning his head, as a couple of his people came rushing up to him.

* * *

**Smallville**

Pete smiled as he was talking to Chloe. He knew that he didn't really stand a whole lot of a chance with the feisty blonde reporter, 'But hey a guy could dream all he wants right?' The dark skinned teen thought, as he leaned back in his seat, and enjoyed the quiet meteor freak week that he had been having so far, and enjoying every minute of it. He would never tell Clark, but sometimes their adventures really freaked him out, the ones where Clark lost control were particularly scary. Besides, he wasn't the one with four or five different super powers that could protect him from most of the things that they ran across when they were trying to save the town. When some person or other that was bitter over something that had happened a long time ago tried something. "And speak of the devil." Ethan muttered to himself, as he saw a familiar figure standing outside, leaning against a car and motioning for him to join him. Sighing he turned back to Chloe, he dug his hand into his pocket and fingered his cell phone idly twirling it in his pocket, hoping his friend would get the hint. He smirked inwardly as he felt the phone begin ringing.

"Hey you got Ethan, what's up?" He asked already knowing who was on the other end.

"In the alley now." The familiar voice ordered him briskly, before he hung up.

"Yeah sure, no problem dad I'll be right there." Ethan answered calmly and coolly, while inwardly he was panicking. Clark never talked like that unless a major problem was coming up, and they were pressed for time in what it was that they could actually do to save the day this time around. 'Either that, or Lana was in life threatening danger once again.' He mused silently. "Sorry Chloe, but something's come up and I gotta jet, can I call you later?" He looked apologetically at his friend.

"Well as long you don't start making a habit of disappearing like Clark then I think that I can forgive you." Chloe joked with her friend. "Besides, I need to head on back home and check on Lana anyways." Nodding the two left to go about the things that had to do.

Pete quickly turned down the alley after he was sure that Chloe was gone and not going to follow him. He walked down the big alley, and looked around for a familiar form. "Yo Clark! Where are you man?" The teen asked, as he looked around for his friend who was literally out of this world.

"Hey Pete." A figure said from behind him, causing the small town boy to jump in fright, as he turned around to find his best friend smirking at him as he leaned against the dumpsters.

"Geeze Clark, I thought that we had already established sneaking up on people like that. It so isn't cool." Pete said crossly, as he felt his heart begin to slow down after he had been scared.

Clark chuckled a bit at this. "Sorry, couldn't help myself."

Pete looked his friend over cautiously; there was something off about his old friend, and whatever it was it was making him really nervous.

"So where is everyone?" Clark asked, as he leaned back against the dumpster. "I'd kind of like to surprise them all with my coming back earlier than I thought I would."

Pete smiled; it looked like Clark had some pranks or something in mind. Something that might not spell the goodness that most of the others were used to dealing with when it came to the farm boy. The only ones that were really used to those sorts of things were Chloe and himself, the others were in for one hell of a shock when Clark let loose on them.

"Let's see, Chloe and Lana are at their place, and Lex is currently out of town."

"Out of town where?" Clark asked, his face showing that he was slightly disappointed that the playboy wasn't in town.

"I think Chloe said that he was having a meeting with someone in Gotham." Pete said, biting down on the jealousy he felt over the friendship that is best friend and the spawn of a monster somehow had.

"Gotham?" Clark said in surprise, obviously having expected a different kind of answer.

"Yeah, you know good old crime central USA. I bet Mr. Luthor would fit right in." Pete joked bitterly, knowing that while cracks on Lex weren't appreciated very much he was more than welcome to take on Lionel Luther jokes.

"Thanks man, now there's something that I need to do."

"Whoa, hold on there man, tell me what happened? Where are your parents?" Pete said, grabbing Clark by the arm of his leather jacket.

Clark rolled his eyes in irritation. "You know, I was going to wait till I had you all together, but you obviously don't want to wait." Clark then grabbed Pete by his shirtfront, and slammed him into the dumpster.

"Hey what's gotten into you man?" Pete asked, as he struggled against the powerful grip that was holding him pinned to the wall.

"Oh not much really, I'm just getting ready to destroy everything that Clark Kent cares for." The dark haired teen said raising the other teen to his eye level. "After I do that, there will be no question which of us is the greater."

"What, you get some red meteor rocks on you again?" Pete asked, as he struggled against the grip.

"Why is it that everyone always assumes it has something to do with meteor rock? And so sorry to disappoint you Ross, but that's not what happened to me. I'm too much for red meteor rocks to even think about handling. Now how should I deal with you hmm? Run with you along the ground till you wear out? Or maybe I should rearrange your left and right arms and legs?" The teen snapped his fingers together. "I know; I can melt your brain by looking you in the eyes! If I do it just right the other me will find you with a face filled with pain and agony. The only bad thing is that you'll have your eyes burnt, out and he won't be able to see all of the betrayal in your eyes."

Pete swallowed in fear, as he struggled against the unbreakable grip that he was being held in. Grinning in excitement, Kal-El forced Pete's eyes open with his free hand. Before he could do the deed though, a new figure slammed into them. Pete went flying into a couple of bags of trash, while the two aliens went flying into a wall. Pete looked up and watched the Clark Kent in a red jacket slam his fist into the other boy's face two times before the Clark Kent in black backhanded him. The blow sent the new Clark Kent flying across the alley, and into the wall on the other side.

The black Clark Kent grinned as he stood up. "Well Clarkey, it took you long enough to get here. You're lucky that Petey boy here is such a slow mover, or I would have killed him by now already."

"Then I guess it's a good thing that I got here when I did Kal-El." Clark said, not rising to being baited right now.

"Well I'll catch up with him later, I got to see a guy at Metro University now, later chief."

Clark blocked the alley exit closest to the street. "We're not done here yet."

Kal-El laughed at his double as he held his hands up in mock surrender. "Hey, you want to go another couple of rounds then I'm more than willing, but I thought the idea was to catch me first."

"Who says I didn't?"

"I'm still standing aren't I?"

"Not for much longer."

"Really?" Kal-El asked innocently, as his hand shot out to the side and grabbed the dumpster by the side and tossed it toward Clark. The teen intercepted it and slowed it down, he nearly had it stopped when Kal-El began pushing against the dumpster. Clark grunted in surprise, and lost his footing. The dumpster ran over him, he heard the screech of tires as people worked on dodging the dumpster, but he was preoccupied as Kal-El proceeded to kick him in the ribs. "Not so big and bad now are you Clark? You're lucky that I want to make you feel horrible before I take you down. Who knows, maybe me Chloe and Lana will have some fun while you're running around looking for us. Well I'll have fun; I don't know that they will when I take the two of them to their beds. I wonder if this dimensions Chloe has a birthmark on her ass?" Kal grinned in hungry anticipation; he shrugged, as he looked at his other self. "Who knows, depending on how good they are willing to perform will depend on whether they get to live." The two boys native to this dimension had little doubt that he meant what he said. "Bye for now Clarkie, time for me to injun my way out of here." The teen then sped off, leaving a bleeding Clark and Pete in the alley.

Clark shakily pulled himself up, and looked up at Pete. He spat a mouthful of blood out before he staggered over to him and helped his friend up. "Pete you all right?" He asked with concern, as he looked his bleeding friend over with concern.

"I'm alright Clark." Pete assured his friend, as he accepted the offered hand up. "What the hell was that thing though? It looked exactly like you, but acted worse than you on a red meteor rock high."

"Thanks I think." Clark said uncertainly.

"So what is he? Or better yet who is he?" Pete questioned, wondering what kind of meteor freak it was that could not only copy Clark's face, but his powers as well.

"He's me." Clark explained, wondering how much time he had to move before is double started causing havoc again.

"But then…" Pete started, wondering at the confusion this was causing him.

"Me from an alternate dimension." Clark explained.

"Well all I gotta say for this is that you are really bizarro." Pete said, as he rubbed the small of his back.

"Are you going to be okay?" Clark asked frowning in concern at what his double had done to his friend.

"Yeah, but you need to go and find the other you before he does something really bad."

"Yeah, the only question is why he didn't kill you when he had the chance?"

"He wants you to sweat Clark, and he's also trying to wear you down. The Luthor's did the same thing to my family when they took our land, he's using the same scare tactics hoping you'll get sloppy and then he'll gloat at you for being such an idiot. Also he probably doesn't think that he can kill you as easily when you're ready, so he's just hurting the ones you care about right now."

"You realize your sounding a lot like Lex right now?" Clark said.

"And I thought you liked me." Pete said cracking a smile. "What do you think all of those lame Indian jokes were about?"

"Oh no." Clark said paling, "he's either going after the girls, or he's going after Professor Willoebrook."

"I'll find the girls, you deal with the chief. The two nodded and prepared to go their separate ways. Oh yeah Clark."

"Yeah?"

"Lex is in Gotham, and Mr. Luthor is still in jail. You never know he might try going after them too."

"Thanks Pete."

"No problem man, now go." The young man nodded, and took off trying to get back to Metropolis in time.

* * *

**Metropolis**

Professor Joseph Willoebrook looked tiredly over the list of applicants that wished to become his assistant. This was a task that he actually been putting off for quite a while now, the last assistant he had had, had been very special to him. He hadn't even needed a real assistant for a couple of years, and now he was doing this. It was one of the reasons that he didn't go to the caves that much, because they brought forth bittersweet memories of a raven-haired girl who had been full of enthusiasm and pride for her people. He looked at the photo that sat on his desk of two smiling teens before he shook his head returning his thoughts back to the work at hand. He didn't have the time right now to worry about prophecies, Skinwalkers, his people, or even the Naman.

As he returned to the list full of class scores and histories, he felt a cold darkness followed by an odd sense of familiarity from somewhere nearby trigger the basic warning wards that he had managed to place around his office. He looked up just in time to see the Naman appear in his doorway. The teacher smiled in greetings as he stood up to greet the young prophesized warrior in training. "Naman, it is good to see you."

The young man nodded in greeting, but did not have his usual flash of argument and doubt when he was called by his rightful name. Perhaps he was finally beginning to accept the fact that his destiny and fate were greater than he had ever thought, and that it was not a thing that he could escape or ignore despite his wishes.

"Professor." The boy greeted.

The old man frowned for a moment as he shook the young man's hand. Turning he leaned casually against the desk. "What can I do for you Naman?"

"Well professor, I actually came by because I need something."

"And what would that be Naman? You know that I am more than willing to help you in whatever it is that you need."

"I need you to die." Kal-El said, as he shot a heat blast at the professor, cursing as the blast missed and struck the back of the picture frame that held Kylea's photo in it. The heat also ignited a nearby pile of research notes and cave pictures. "Why can't any of you actually make this easy?" The boy asked angrily, as he picked up a rock and flicked it at the professor, the shot missed as he watched the rock fly through the window. Before Kal-El could find anything else to throw he was slammed from behind, and tossed into the desk.

"Professor." Clark said, nodding toward the teacher. "I see you've met my alternate version." The man nodded weakly, as he looked at the two identical boys that were now in his office.

"You know, the first time or two I didn't mind too much, but this is what? The third time now that you've ruined everything right before I could kill someone. Do you have any idea how annoying that is getting to be?" Kal asked, as he sat up to look at Mr. Goody good.

"Maybe you should think about finding another hobby." Clark answered dryly, as he stood between the two.

Kal smiled as he picked up the half burned photograph from the remains of the desk. He looked at the photo then at Clark "You know, this girl made sure I had really great few times. Her animal form gave her quite a bit of endurance, a real animal in the bed if you know what I mean," He said winking knowingly at Clark. "She was good even after she finally accepted that she was mine, it was a shame that I accidentally snapped her neck, it was a real shame."

Clark narrowed his eyes at this admission from his darker half, and sent a powerful punch at his double. The blow lifted Kal off his feet and into a nearby wall.

The boy chuckled as he pulled himself out of the wall and massaged his jaw a few times. "I think your almost ready to get this show started now Clarkie boy." Kal said before he punched Clark sending the other teen through a window. "Of course, then again you might need just a tad bit more persuasion before you're all the way there. So the sooner you get your head in the fact that this is a real fight, a no hands barred kind, the sooner we can get this on. I'll be seeing you in cesspool central now Clark. Do try and be late this time though, I really wouldn't mind getting to kill at least one of your buddies before you got there." The alien walked away, pausing only to backhand the professor into a bookshelf before he started running.

Clark sped back in and looked down at the man. He took a quick peek with his x-ray vision at the damage that he had caused. He saw that his friend and confidante had several broken ribs, and that he had a couple of large cracks in his jawbone.

"Naman." The man said through gritted teeth, as he was helped into a nearby chair. "You must stop this version of you from the other side before he does things in your name that he should not be allowed to do, and destroys the secrecy that you value so much."

Clark nodded, paling as he thought of what might happen if the world knew of his abilities. He doubted that his rocky friendship with Lex would survive, and that the man would probably make it his business to learn everything he could from him. In the past he had believed that Lex had really changed, and was nowhere near like his father, but now he was less certain than he had once been. It pained him to know that someone that he had cherished like a brother at one time was not quiet trustworthy enough for something like this. The really hard parts about that was that he had gone to hell and back a number of times for Lex, and in the end he could end up being his worse enemy.

"Go Naman. Stop this shadow version of yourself from harming your friends and allies." Clark nodded, before he headed for the city of crime itself.

**

* * *

**

Gotham

Kal-El grinned as he looked down from a building that overlooked so much of Gotham city. The island city had a feeling of darkness that appealed to him in ways that he couldn't even begin to understand. Looking down he could see the train tracks that led right through the Wayne Tower. The building was so different compared to the LuthorCorp Tower. It rose like a weary guardian, providing a safe haven for those that needed aide, yet still had a hidden sense of protective power to it. The Luthercorp tower on the other hand was cold and imposing building, making you feel small and insignificant whenever you saw it

Kal looked down at the numerous cars and vehicles, and knew that somewhere in this city Lex was waiting for him so that he could kill him. The others he had made the mistake in taunting them before he dealt with them, Luthor though, Luthor would be dealt with in a quick and deadly manner. He strained his ears and began to filter the various sounds out. A woman was talking to her plants; another was cracking a safe, D.A Harvey Dent and Commissioner were talking about some mob boss or other, while they watched Detective Bullock question some guy known simply as Eel, he also heard a Dr. Crane talking to his true master inside the hidden facility inside the Gothams own version of Bellreave. Even the mumblings of Lucious Fox were noted, as he cataloged various noises. He continued focusing though, ignoring these insignificant people till he finally focused on the sound that he had been listening for.

"Listen, I don't care how it gets done just make sure that the Wayne Foundation goes public. Is that really all that hard to understand or do I need to make you a diagram to follow?" The billionaire said a sneer in his voice.

"I understand Mr. Luthor, it's just taking a bit longer than I had originally thought it would. Pennyworth has been making us drag our feet through the mud for quite a while now."

"I was under the impression that you were the one to call the shots at Wayne Enterprises, not a former butler. Of course if that is the case, perhaps I should go and discuss these things with him instead of wasting all of my time with you."

"No, that won't be necessary Mr. Luthor, but it will be at least three more years till everything is taken care of." The voice stammered out nervously.

"You better find a way to make it happen faster, or I'm going to be really disappointed with you." Luthor said darkly.

"Yes sir, right away sir.

Kal shook his head in amusement as he watched a man walk out of a limo. "Well cue ball, it looks like your being a very naughty boy. And someone needs to teach you a lesson about intimidating people to it seems." Kal picked up a brick, and crushed it letting the dust trickle out of his hands while he held onto a handful of shards that he launched at the tires of the limo. He chuckled as he watched the car fall on one side. "And now, time for some real fun." Kal smirked, as he pulled up a large heavy smoke stack out of the roof and tossed it at the car. He grinned as it slammed through the front of the limo skewering the engine. "And now it's time to heat things up for you Luthor." He focused his heat vision on the back, and began melting the car.

Lex cursed as he kicked the door open, someone had obviously planned this, the car was useless, and someone was using some sort of heat device on the other side of the car. He could really use an insane unexplainable Clark Kent styled rescue right now. Next time he went on a trip that had to do with something slightly odd he was going to consider at least making sure that Clark was nearby. Maybe the next time he went searching for the stones he would bring along his good luck farm boy.

"Get down." He told his driver, as he joined him. The two men pulled out handguns and looked over the car for anything or anyone.

"I don't see anyone sir."

"Neither do I." Lex returned, though he had noticed a heat shimmer coming from somewhere up above them. Turning he looked around for any other source of cover. There was another car about forty feet away, and then there was a corner there, another 60 feet. "Think you can make it to there?" He asked, pointing to the car.

"Yes, sir."

"Good, go I'll cover you." He shot blindly at the area where the heat was coming from. The man made it two steps before his legs were actually caught on fire, the man limped back toward the cover the limo provided.

"Any other ideas?" The man asked nervously, as he checked the burns that were forming on his legs.

Lex thought for a moment, this type of weapon was like nothing he had ever even heard of, yet it was effectively holding him in here and melting his car away like it was nothing. He hadn't realized that his father had so many allies in Gotham that wanted him out of the way. "We'll have to try again only this time we wait until the car catches fire then make our move."

"Yes sir."

"All right, get the flare gun it might give us a chance if we can blind whatever the tracker is.

"Yes sir," the man headed back to the car and popped the back and managed to slip around and snag the pack.

Kal grinned, as he watched the stooge Lex had driving get something out of the limo. The man barely got it out though before the car started to burn now the old bald eagle would have to make a move if he really wanted to do anything.

"Hey Kal, you want to leave them alone yet?" Clark asked, as he used a smokestack to slam the other boy back from the edge of the roof. The pipe bent where it hit, and Clark tossed it over his shoulder.

"Finally looks like you're ready to play." Kal said, as he rubbed the side of his face where the smokestack had hit him. "And I haven't even gotten to the girls yet. Personally I was kind of hoping that it'd take me getting close to them for you to finally realize that this game is for keeps."

"You're not going any farther down your list." Clark promised.

"You sure about that Clarkie?" Kal-El mocked his alternate. Clark didn't answer, as he grabbed an air conditioning unit and tossed it at his double. Kal continued to smirk, as he sidestepped it. "Hope Lex is paying attention, or old Lexy boy will have even more off the top than usual." The two watched as the a/c unit struck the cab. "Not bad Kent, I give it a 4.3 not bad for accidental shot. Had you hit Luthor I might have given you an 8.5 score though."

Clark's fist flew through the air with enough power to knock a normal person's head clean off. The shot connected, and sent Kal flying through the air. The doppelganger landed painfully against a wall. Getting up Kal sent a hard jab to Clark in the gut followed by a knee to the face. Clark caught a fist coming down and twisted tossing Kal to the ground grabbing the boy by the back of his jacket Clark swung and tossed Kal toward what looked like a slightly less populated area. Clark cast one worried glance toward Lex and his ruined car before he chased after his double.

Clark ran after Kal, and found him as he was leaping out of the hole he had made when he landed. Kal caught the farm boy by the front of his jacket and tossed him with all of his strength into a wall that surrounded the property that they were currently fighting on. Clark pulled himself out only to get sucker punched, as he came back down stumbling back he shook his head enough to duck under the next shot. He grabbed a loose brick and crushed it; he then flung the fragments at Kal's face. While his double reflexively covered his face, Clark kicked him similarly to the way that he had seen Lana do before. His blow wasn't as well aimed as hers were, but it still clipped the other boy sending him flying into a tree. Clark rushed over, and tossed the other boy back over the fence and toward the ocean before taking off after him again.

An old man looked out the window of the nearby mansion and looked at the damage that hadn't been there five minutes ago, a small ditch, a fallen tree, and a large crack in the wall. Master Bruce would be most disturbed when he saw all of this. He reached for a nearby phone and began to call a bricklayer and landscaper to fix the vandalism that some ruffian or other had done to his employer's home. He certainly hoped that Master Bruce never made friends with the kinds of ruffians that did this sort of thing.

Clark rushed to where Kal was falling, his eyes opened in surprise as he saw that Kal was actually hovering over the ocean and waiting for him with is arms crossed and a superior smirk on his face. "Surprised Kent? I don't have your stupid fears, which means that I can use my powers better than you ever will."

"Yeah? Well we'll just have to see about that!" Clark yelled, as he made his way toward the other boy. The two began to circle each other, and striking when they could, they soon had a column of water that rose as they fought. Higher and higher it rose as they moved faster and faster. People stopped and watched as the pillar of water began rising in the air, but was slowly going away from the island city, and closer toward the mainland and Bludehaven.

Kal landed a punch that knocked Clark out of the vortex, and into a wooden dock. Clark stood up shaking the shattered boards off of himself. The two took off again, running along the coast as they shot various blows at each other.

A figure in green and orange watched from his adopted fathers lighthouse, as two unknown blurs crisscrossed back and forth on a nearby cove for a couple of minutes before they disappeared. Taking a drink of water from a bottle just in case, A.C dove from the lighthouse into the ocean and quickly swam to the cove. "Dude." The boy said, as he saw that there were now strips of sandglass all over the place, as if something extremely hot had moved across the sand, there were a few random spots as well. 'What had that thing been that it could do damage like this to a cove? And did it pose a threat to the ocean?' The boy was lost in thought, as he considered what this might mean.

The two Kryptonians paused on an island that seemed to be deserted, as they glared at each other. Their clothes were now waterlogged and beginning to show wear and tear from the amount of punishment that they had each doled out on each other, though Clark was slightly weaker since his recent exposure to Kryptonite. Without warning they both struck, blasting at each other with their heat vision. The two ignored the backlash as the two energy beams struck each other. They were so intent that neither of them noticed, as their clothes began steaming, nor as the nearby plant life that began catching on fire. The two finally let up and charged again striking each other, causing a small shockwave that put the flames out as quickly as they had come.

Glaring the two took off again across the ocean, not even noticing the handful of spears and arrows that had been aimed at them as they fell uselessly into the beach and water. Ten women scowled, as they watched the ripples in the water marking where the two boys had stepped. "What manner of men do you think that they were my princess? They looked like brothers."

"Yet they fought as if they were mortal enemies, and not of the same blood sister." Another figure said, as she struggled in vain to find some other sign of the two boys.

"That is merely the nature of males sister." Another one of the figures said scornfully. "We should invoke the powers of the gods to help us deal with them."

"Yes, challenging ones with the Speed of Mercury, the strength of Hercules, and the gaze of Apollo should not be done without caution." Another said, as they watched the water finally even out.

"Come, we must go and tell the Queen of what has happened here."

The others nodded in agreement, and picked up their fallen weapons and began to head for the woods. One paused and turned to look back at where the two had been moments before. The red and blue clothed one had intrigued her. Something about the power in him had spoken to her. She didn't know how or why, but she knew that they would meet again. Someday they would fight alongside each other, but there was an element that was still missing.

"Princess Diana come on." The young woman nodded, and followed after her companions.

A woman that had been residing in the shadows shrugged the hood of her cloak off after the group of Amazons was gone. "Soon little Princess you shall know what your destiny is. You and the other two are almost ready to embrace your destinies. Enjoy your times of peace, the off Man of Steel and the Dark Knight still have much to learn, and you have to prove yourself to your people first. May Athena watch over you." The old Seer returned to her forest hideaway.

The two boys were now in Texas, fighting on the 6666 ranch. Clark did a shoulder slam that he had seen at a Sharks game and tossed Kal through a barn. Clark followed that hit off with a right cross which opened Kal's cheek for a moment. Kal returned the favor by slamming his fist into Clark's gut. Then sending Clark flying into a boulder with a backhand. Clark got up and charged at Kal, the other boy ducked and flipped his counterpart over him. Grinning the boy kicked Clark several times before they moved on.

Bart Allen grinned as he looked at the various girls that were hanging around as well. He really wished he could stay but he did have something that he wanted to do at China. Sighing the boy disappeared in a streak and reappeared in China, the boy barely dodged the derbies that were being thrown from the Great Wall. The teen looked around trying to find out where the objects had come from he turned and saw two figures darting around almost as fast as he could move and headed after the unknowns. He nearly made it when something that was thrown nearly hit him and while he dodged it the boy lost sight of whatever it was that had been doing whatever it was. Shrugging the boy decided now was as good as any time to grab some food, after that he still had to get down to Metropolis he had to see his guy about his latest stash of goods that he had gotten.

**

* * *

**

Sunneydale: Casa De Summers

Faith eyed her opponents warily, it was one thing when you were taking on a dozen vamps on your lonesome it was quite another to go up against 20 trained ninja demons with another 40 or so waiting o the sides. She hoped that B and her family realized that they needed help soon, cause she doubted that the whole Spirit blocker that had been set up earlier would actually be able to even faze these guys, and once she and the others were gone she had no doubt that they would be all over the house and she was not going to fail if she could help it. Tucking her worries away, Faith let a cocky grin cover her face as she held the staff she had been sharpening earlier at the ready. "So, which one of you boys wants to go first?" She asked, as she twirled the staff in her hands.

One of the demons muttered something that the dark haired slayer couldn't understand. She really hated the fact that while she carried a staff the demons all carried blades of some kind on them, most of the time more than one. She lunged at the one that had spoken first guessing that he was the team leader, and used her staff to stake him. She watched in surprise, as the ninja disappeared into a cloud of dust, leaving his clothes and weapons behind him. 'Ok, this was something that she could work with.' The girl thought, she didn't have time to think any farther though, as a foot slammed into her gut doubling her over, an elbow to the head knocked her down to her hands and knees. Fighting the sick feeling she now had, Faith fought back to her feet ready to return the favor with the interest she owed the guy. She idly noticed that ghost girl had managed to get her hands on a pair of swords she was busy defending against a number of throwing weapons with her two blades. Crossing her blades the girl block a handful of blades, spinning around she performed a roundhouse on another ninja that was sneaking up on her. Ghost girl then jumped over another attack and landed on the hood of Xander's car. The girl blocked a few more attacks, but still had her feet kicked out from under her. The girl fell and instead of hitting the hood and windshield, the girl fell right through the car. The Hand ninja paused in surprise, before they approached the sides of the car carefully looking under it, but they couldn't seem to find the girl. The blades of the two swords suddenly emerged through the back passenger doors impaling a ninja on either side in the hip. The doors were kicked open and one of the blades ripped into the leg of another ninja, but the girl came leaping out of the trunk. The girl took a couple of breaths of fresh air, as she picked up a couple of dropped swords she twirled them to get the feel of them, as she looked the new group of ninja over her eyes stopping on the figure with a red mask who had merely stood there and directed them.

"I'm not going back to you Ogun!" The girl said, making her point as she sliced into one of the ninjas.

Faith couldn't help wonder what was up with this guy, since he just stood there and watched as his foot soldiers died. Usually bad guys got involved by the time that she had wiped the floor with that many of the hired help, just to show the minions how it was supposed to be done. Sighing the slayer turned back to her own fight, she wanted to stay alive, so she had to pay attention. Raising her staff she tried to block a sword the staff connected with the sword, the slayer then watched as the blade sliced through the staff. "Hey! Do you have any idea how long I spent making that!" The young woman growled in annoyance, as she kicked the ninja away, then snapped the staff the rest of the way apart and staked the ninja like he was a vampire with one of the pieces, and blocked a punch with the other. "Is that the best you got?" She asked with a smirk, before ducking under another sword, and came back up with a spin kick, and staked another that was getting to close for her comfort.

* * *

Shadowcat couldn't understand the point of this fight, the ninjas acted as if they were trying to capture her yet Ogun did nothing but watch. If he really wanted her captured then all he had to do was get involved, they both knew that despite her imprinted knowledge, that he was still the superior fighter by quite a bit, unless he was playing with her of course, watching her struggle for his own sick enjoyment. Damn it the guy was supposed to be dead! Logan had pierced his heart with his claws, how was he even watching her while leading an army of demon ninja? She phased as a knife got past her sword, and flew through her to imbed itself in a nearby tree. Moving quickly, she slammed the handle of her sword into the face of one ninja, and then slammed her knee into the gut of another. She followed up with a few Israli elbow strikes that Logan had shown her before she had been possessed. Spinning, she caught another in a headlock, and broke one of his arms before she kicked him toward her teammate, and rolling with a blow to the side of the face she had received from being stationary and solid for too long.

Rogue took a deep breath, as she caught the ninja that Shadowcat had kicked in her direction, she applied her bare hands to the opening in the mask. The ninja struggled, and then began jerking as his essence traveled up into the mutant. Rogue gasped as memories came flooding into her mind, she then focused and managed to snap the neck of the now unconscious ninja. She grabbed a sword, then jumped into the mass of her brothers/no the Hand, as she freed the Claimed Child of Ogun/No Kitty.

"Thanks." Kitty said with relief, as she got back up.

"Do not mention it right now oh honored daughter of Ogun." Rogue said, her eyes flashing between their normal color and the glowing orange of a member of the Hand. Kitty shuddered at this but ignored it. The girls then attacked the remaining group of ninjas in this area with their ninja skills.

* * *

Logan bared his teeth as he watched the fights that the others were in, but he couldn't chance turning his back on the Jonin or the Genin that he had in front of him, he just hoped the girls could hold out until he had dealt with this group of assassins, then he could help them with the rest. "So how you wanna do this bub?" The mutant asked as his fists clenched, his claws were drawn already it was more of a waiting game than anything else now, cold unfeeling eyes met into wary feral eyes

"Genin, destroy the Giajin dog! And when you are done his bones shall be a trophy for our clan."

Logan shrugged, as he jumped into the ninja and dug his claws into the guts of two of them, tearing them out with a sideways slash, he kicked out behind him hitting another ninja, and then back slashed another who died with wounds to his face. Moving onwards, he caught an incoming fist, and squeezed, breaking some of the bones in the hand. He ignored the feeling of a handful of throwing weapons hitting him in the back.

"There's an awful lot of these guys." Faith said, as she landed nearby after having been kicked across the yard. She then did the splits dodging a pair of swords that crossed over her head.

"Yeah? Well unless ya wanna ask em ta wait in line an take a number yer jus gonna have tah deal with it darlin." Wolverine growled, as he slashed through a pair of swords and a ninja. He reached out with his other hand and caught a knife, and tossed it back toward the ninja that had thrown it.

Faith didn't have time to say anything, as she noticed a couple of ninjas talking on a nearby roof, and waiting with their swords as they prepared to jump on top of the girls who were too busy fighting the ones on the ground to notice the ones above them. Faith performed a couple of tornado kicks that got her closer to the girls, she then reeled back and hurled the two pieces of the staff as hard and fast as she could, she smiled grimly as they struck the two ninja. Spinning around she barely caught one of the arrows that had been aimed at her.

Wolverine's arm shot out and sliced through three more arrows that were aimed at the slayer, and tossed a dagger at one of the archers hitting him in the eye. The mutant grunted as a sword broke as it hit the bone and metal in his shoulder. Wolverine felt his eyes begin to flash between their normal colors and red, as he felt one of his berserker rages coming up on him, his inner beast was trying to claw its way out. Logan shook his head and sheathed his claws with effort he recaged his beast he couldn't afford to lose control here not with his girls and the potentials so nearby. 'Besides, if he could preach it, then he better damn well be able ta practice it!' The mutant growled darkly, as he picked up a sword. He held the blade in his hands, and focused on the feel and sight of the weapon for a moment. "I am not an animal," he said defiantly, "I am a Samurai!" He rose to his full height, and stared with renewed strength at the ninja. "Banzai!" He cried, as he charged back into the Hand.

Faith stared at the running figure with curiosity, she had thought that the little claw guy was just a bunch of talk what with his talk about redeeming himself and all, but she had watched as he had chosen to choose between losing himself in something, or in fighting as a person. She had watched, as his eyes had flickered before going back to normal, the ninjas had actually backed up a bit as if they knew what it was he was going through and were slightly scared. He had then picked up a sword, and somehow reached the end of his internal fight for the moment somehow, and if a guy like that and Angel could fight their inner demons, then there was no way that she couldn't fight her own right? She turned toward her own gang of ninja ready to continue the fight, the only problem though, was that they were all armed with various blades, and all she had were her hands at the moment. She dropped to the ground to avoid a sword, and then rolled away to avoid the sickle that followed after it. The deadly weapon sparked, as it struck the ground.

Hating herself for it, the dark haired slayer drew the knife that had been hidden beneath her jacket. "All right." The slayer said through gritted teeth, as she came back to her feet. "Which of you boys wants to be next?" Faith jerked her head back, as a sword tried to take her head off, she felt the side of her head, and looked down to see that the right side of her hair had been sliced off, and a cut now decorated her cheek from the sword. "All right, you're dead now." The Slayer growled angrily, as she headed towards the one with a sword in his hands. "It's supposed to be an unspoken rule that you do not mess with a girls hair." She kicked the sword into the air, then a one two combo followed by a haymaker that knocked him into the ground. She kneeled down beside the stunned ninja, and glared at him with fury. "You are so lucky that there's still a lot of your friends around, or I would make your death really drawn out. Instead, I'll have to settle for this." The slayer drove the long blade that the mayor had given her into the crotch of the ninja, and twisting the blade she yanked the blade upward till she reached his ribs. "Rest In Pieces." The slayer finished, before she turned toward the rest of the ninja.

Rogue skewered another ninja, and absorbed a small bit of his skills as he died. The girl spun around and blocked a punch from another, and sent him flying into a couple of others drawing a pair of knives in one, hand and a handful of throwing blades in the other she threw them at the group of ninja with an uncanny accuracy, before turning and facing off with more of the ones that were closer to her.

* * *

"Why are we hiding in here?" Kennedy asked, as she watched as the four battled with the unending horde of ninja. "We should be out there helping them not hiding out in here."

"Right." Dawn drawled out in a cross between a sarcastic Xander, and a disbelieving yet honest Spike. "And you trained to fight swarms of ninjas when?" She asked with a smirk.

"We can't just let them die though." Another girl said.

"Exactly, besides this is our war." Kennedy said.

"Why can't we let them die?" Giles asked, as he watched the four fight impossible odds. "It's the ninjas that are dying after all." The watcher was silent, as he remembered four others that had faced the impossible in this town and won time and again, now look what had become of the high and mighty Scooby gang.

"Mr. Giles, you can't mean to tell me that you expect us to do nothing but stand here and wait!"

"I don't really like it my own self, but there is really no choice in the matter. We don't dare to use the long range weaponry that we have for fear of hitting Faith and the others, and we don't dare open the door and fight, because none of you are that skilled yet." Giles glared at Kennedy as he said that, ensuring that the potential knew that included her.

"But…"

"No." Giles said, with finality to his voice. "We must let them do their jobs, though you may gather weapons in case they do fail however unlikely that seems."

The potentials nodded, while Kennedy began barking orders for them to head for the weapons chest. "Glad to see that your starting to mellow her out there Willow." Dawn teased the witch, as they watched Faith fight with her knife in one hand and a sword in the other, as she fought alongside the short man. Despite the cuts and bruises that the slayer was now sporting, it was obvious to any who watched them that she was in her element. There was a new element in the way that she fought that seemed to make her weapons sing as she swung them. She blocked with the sword and caught another weapon against her knife.

"Do you think they'll actually get through them?" Anya asked worriedly. "Cause I still have a full mortal life that I would very much like to live."

"I honestly don't know." Giles answered, as he watched Faith slice through the enemy. He hadn't really watched her fight since she had decided to go and work for the Mayor, he had to admit though, that her style had changed somewhat. Gone was the girl that fought with a reckless abandon, and in her place was a woman that had traces of that recklessness, but was tempered by some odd sort of methodology that seemed to work for her. He wondered when her style had changed to this, or if it had been a gradual thing, or if it had been sometime during her jail time. Shaking his head he made his way toward one of the rooms that overlooked the front yard. 'Maybe he would get lucky.' He thought, as he hefted his crossbow. He supposed he would just have to content himself for now, by watching this slayer's back.

* * *

Kitty spun away from her latest kill, and found herself face to face with Ogun finally. Shifting her feet nervously she raised her sword in a salute Ogun returned the gesture, though he seemed to be almost laughing at her as he did.

The ninja master asked in Japanese.

"You're kidding me right? We both know that you'll beat me without even trying." Kitty returned in English at her former master.

Ogun said, holding his hand out to the mutant girl.

Kitty shook her head at this. "You know very well, that there's no way on this side of the Hellmouth that I would even consider joining with you. And stop calling me your daughter!"

The red masked figure nodded at her outburst in understanding. The ninja said regretfully, as he changed his position.

Kitty swallowed back any comments, as the memory of a sword like Ogun had now slicing through her hair and clothes while she had been frozen unable to move. "You know I'm going to try and fight you till the end, so why do you even bother trying to get me to surrender?"

The ninja casually stepped forward, and easily disarmed her.

"Thanks, but I'll take a pass on having you taking over my body again anytime soon."

The ninja's shoulders sagged, as if he finally realized he couldn't persuade her into giving in to him. "You leave me little choice then child." He said in English.

"Stop!" Faith cried as she jumped between the two. "How about you leave the kid alone? Besides don't you think that you're a little bit old for her pal?"

"Out of my way Chosen One. My battle is not with you, but with her and her protector. One way or another I intend to have what is rightfully mine." The ninja backhanded the slayer hard enough to stagger the slayer.

"That the best you got pal?" Faith asked, as she licked where blood was actually running from a split lip.

The ninja actually laughed at this, as he swung his sword. Faith ducked the blade, and did a spin kick, but was stopped in the air as the ninja grabbed her by the ankle and sent her sprawling. "It has been sometime since I have defeated a slayer. I look forward to crossing blades with you fiery one."

"Whatever you say pal." The slayer returned, as she dropped into a defensive crouch, her knife held in a reverse guard.

Ogun let out a cold laugh that made the skin on both the slayer and the mutant crawl. "You amuse me girl. If I had not already chosen a good disciple you would most likely be a possibility. I shall enjoy killing you when the time finally comes though, but first I have others to deal with right now." The ninja master threw a couple of his smoke pellets at the slayer.

Faith coughed as she jumped away from the newly formed smoke cloud, when the cloud was gone the ninja seemed to have disappeared with it to wherever it was he had come from. Cursing, she looked around until she spotted the guy going after Claw Boy. With a worried glance she saw that the two mutant girls were fairly far apart, and that Claw Boy was out on his lonesome as well. Looking the situation over she felt a cold sensation in her gut, as she began to suspect what was going on in this fight.

A chuckle came from beside her. "The old divide and conquer trick eh Faithy?" The mayor asked, as he put his hands into his pocket. "It gets people like them every time."

Faith ignored the boss's voice as she winced as a sword left a shallow cut on her upper arm. She ducked another blow, and swung her knife upwards taking the minion ninja's sword away from him. She got back to her feet and threw the two away from her. She paused as she heard an odd sound that didn't make since in a battle. Turning she saw that some kind of shield had gone up separating Faith and Wolverine from Shadowcat and Rogue. The energy was enclosing the Slayer and the feral mutant inside some sort of large dome.

* * *

"NO!" Logan cried, as he was separated from his girls. His sword bounced off the colored light. The presence of his girls was helping him stay in the right mind frame without losing himself to the beast, but without them he wasn't sure that he could do that.

"Sorry Wild Man, but that's not happening." A mocking voice said to him.

Logan glanced up at a young woman about the age of the two Slayers with black hair hovering in the middle of the dome shaped shield that held him in, but wouldn't let him get to his girls despite the fact that he could feel the slamming of a pair of fists from the other side. "Girl, ya got about thirty seconds to turn this thing off before ah turn ya inside out, cause when I finish with ya their won't be enough of ya left ta fill up a match box!" Wolverine threatened the floating figure.

The girl smirked at the mutants deadly threats. "Please," She drawled out. "You're about as dangerous as the slayer is to me."

"Then maybe ya oughta start worryin girl."

"Please, Buffy knows that she doesn't stand a chance against me. She knows that if she pisses me off that I'll turn her into a rat and stuff her into a cage."

"Rat? So you must be that Amy chick. What's your game here cheese breath?"

"The same as it's always been." Amy said, her hands clenched in anger at the name.

"Power huh?"

"Of course, I will be the most powerful when all is said and done after this." The girl said with a near insane gleam in her eyes. "After this I shall rule this dimension."

"Please, you'll be the most powerful boot licker nothing more." Faith returned to the witch. "And that's only if you get the most power, but what if like another one gets more power than you hmm? I'll tell you what. You become nothing more than their bitch to play with whenever they're bored."

Amy hesitated as the thought of bowing before someone like that Voldemort guy before she dismissed it, she was easily more powerful than he was, if he became a problem then she would deal with him.

"If you truly intend to harm the mystic you will have to go through us Logan-san." Ogun said, as he and the Jonin stepped out of the shadows.

"Ya know I ain't got anything against that idea Ogun." Wolverine growled out, as he bared his claws.

"The Beast can fight and win true, but can the man?" The ninja countered.

"Come on Claw Boy, between the two of us we can take these jokers, then we can deal with the witch."

Logan turned and smiled at the Slayer. "You sure about that Darlin? No one'd think ya were any less of ya if ya wanted ta leave girl."

"Yeah right, I'd just forget something like that, besides I wouldn't want to miss a party like this."

Logan chuckled at the last part. "Why not? You only get tah dance with the devil by the pale moonlight only so often."

Faith smiled at this description filing the words away for whenever her next fight for the end of the world came. "Come on pajama boys show me what you got." She taunted.

The Jonin nodded, as he let his silken robes fall to the ground. "Very well Chosen Guardian of the Earth, shall we dance the dance of death here?"

"It'd be my pleasure old man." Faith said, as she readied her weapons. The Jonin nodded, as he drew a pair of matching ninja blades.

"And while they dance their dance Logan-San, you and I have much to catch up on. I would like to finish our business once and for all. Once you are gone my daughter shall be vulnerable enough for me to reclaim for eternity."

"Don't count on it bub, she's a hell of a lot stronger than you give her credit fer."

"I know her strengths I know her weaknesses." Ogun boasted at his friend and student turned enemy. "Without you or the others of your kind, she will be easy prey for me to remold back into my honorable daughter."

"Not happenin bub."

"So who do I battle this time the Animal or the Man?" Logan didn't say anything as he attacked with the sword in one hand ready to strike.

* * *

Faith waited for the Jonin to make a move, taking the time to study her opponent. She didn't know what it was, but there was something different about this one than the other demon ninjas that she had already dealt with. He was obviously fit despite the fact that he looked like he was about a dozen years older than Giles, she wouldn't be surprised if he had a few nasty surprises for her either. She watched as he skillfully moved the swords into different guard positions, as they circled each other. Even as a slayer with over 1000's of year's worth of combat knowledge to draw on, she didn't think that she could match the being in front of her in pure sword skill. It was obvious to her that the only way that she was going to have a chance at winning this fight was if she took him out of the fight as hard and fast as she could, before he could manage to do anything to her. "So, you ready to party yo?" Instead of answering the Jonin charged at the slayer. The fight was on!

The ninja master started off with jumping in the air and spinning like a windmill, his two swords spun in a deadly method flashing in the light from the shield. Despite how pretty it was, the slayer knew that they could easily cut a person several times. Faith doubted her own sword would survive an encounter with the human fan, and decided that pulling back was the better thing to do in this case. The ninja landed beside her, and blocked her own downward blow, then kicked her squarely in the chin knocking her head back, the rest of her quickly followed after that.

"Not bad." The slayer complimented, as she jumped back to her feet rubbing her aching jaw for a moment. "My turn." She returned, as she delivered an uppercut that sent the ninja flying, he twisted in the air and managed to land on his feet gracefully about 30 or 40 feet away from where she was standing. "Now that is just not fair." The slayer grumbled to herself, before she made a jump that brought her down next to the ninja. She sent a blow at him, but he ducked it, and grabbed her by the arm and sent her flying over his shoulder. The slayer let out a gasp for air, as she landed face first. She didn't bother to think, as she released her weapons and grabbed the ground and pushed herself forward, hissing as she felt a scratch on her back. She climbed back to her feet and felt her back, and realized that the pajama boy had sliced through the back of all of her top, and left a small cut over her skin. Had she not moved when she did, she most likely would be taking her last breath if she ever got that much. She turned around and found the guy was almost on top of her. Waiting, she managed to make him miss, while she got in a nice punch she could hear something in the body give. She ducked another blow, and kicked out nearly taking his knee out. She rolled out of the way, and found her weapons, she bent over and picked the blades up, she looked up and felt a knee connect with her face twice, and saw a sword coming down at her, she blocked it by pushing it to the side and down, so instead of slamming through her mouth it went through her shoulder. She bit her lip as the pain coursed through her, she looked up as he readied his other weapon, her sword was still locked with his other sword gritting her teeth, she watched the blade come down and swiped with her knife, she watched as it sliced through the forearm, she watched as the sword fell a few inches away from her face. She let go of her sword, and pried his still jerking fingers off the blade, and then punched him two times then one heavy punch that forced him to go flying off. The ninja unfortunately managed to hang on to his sword, and the blade slid out letting her bleed even more, wanting nothing more than to sleep, the slayer had to make sure he was finished, as she took a look at him then taking a chance she kicked at his windpipe breaking all the bones in his throat. Faith nodded grimly at the figure. 'She had done it, he was dead. Now she could collapse.' She thought, as she fell down next to the remains of the Jonin.

Clark ran after Kal, determined to catch up with him. He was still a bit lightheaded from his exposure to the green meteor rocks, but there was nothing that he could do about that right now, he had a job to do, and that job currently meant that he had to defeat his darker side. The two boys had crossed oceans and towns, but now they were back in the town that they had started at. Kal stopped near Buffy's old house, the two boys looked at the dome that no one could see into, the two mutant girls were busy trying to break through while they fought. There was a half dozen unconscious ninjas leaning, against the dome, and nearly twice that many ninja uniforms.

"Hmm, hey boss lady love what you and the others have done with the place." Kal said, as he called up to a black haired woman with eyes as dark as her hair.

"You still haven't taken care of him?" The woman said, though her voice seemed to echo as she spoke.

"Hey I want to make sure that he's got the right mind frame before I snap him into bits and pieces. I want him to suffer before he realizes that it's useless to fight me, then maybe I'll consider letting his real half out, or perhaps I'll force him to..."

"Kill him. The more you play with him the more dangerous he will become." Amy returned, remembering the way her own mother had fallen to Buffy because she had played with the slayer.

"Please he's all about puppy dogs and shiny days. The glass is always half full kind of guy. It takes a lot to make him pissed, not like me you know."

"Yeah, but I'm good at being pissed when you get me mad." Clark returned, as he stopped beside Kal, and slammed the boy into the dome.

The alternate groaned as he pulled himself off the dome, his body and magic didn't mix one bit. "You're going to pay for that Clarkie." He said, as he sent a heat blast at his double, who was caught off guard, and was sent flying across the street. The boy smirked, it was almost a shame that this dimensions version of him wasn't able to handle the fact that he had been exposed to meteor rocks during their fight. He hadn't exactly given him a chance to catch his breath either though.

The two boys got up and charged at each other, Kal let loose another heat blast at the ground melting a part of the street forcing Clark to focus on his balance. As the farm boy caught his balance, he was caught in a steel grip and thrown toward the shield. He was then grabbed in a bear hug, and slammed repeatedly into the shield.

Rogue watched as Clark was being pummeled, she flipped another ninja over her shoulder, and watched. The young farm boy needed help, but there was only one way that she could help. She glanced over at Kitty, who was alternating between slicing at the dome and kicking the asses of her brethren Hand, no the evil Hand ninjas. As she watched though she noticed that Kitty was becoming as tired and desperate as she was, even if there was now the occasional crossbow bolt hitting a ninja sometimes barely missing her and Kitty. If something didn't happen soon they would both be out of the fight, and the scared shadows behind Kitty's eyes showed that she had some ideas of what would happen to them if that were to happen.

Marie sighed, she figured she was already screwed up enough as it was adding a few more minds wouldn't kill her. She hesitated for a moment before she shed her X-Man jacket, her other glove and the long sleeved over shirt she wore. Now wearing nothing more than a tank top, pants and boots she ran up next to the two wrestling figures, she watched as the one in black forced the other guy to his knees then brought his knee up while he forced Clark's head down, she flinched as blood spewed from his mouth. Gathering her courage she approached the unknown clone and tapped him on the shoulder. Biting her lip nervously she watched as he turned around and grinned at her. She put on her best smile and looked at him. "That jacket must be a pain to keep clean while fighting." She said in her best girly voice.

"Oh believe me, it is. The only time it comes off is when I don't need the bad boy image though."

"And do you need that image with me?" She asked.

"Lets find out." Kal said, as he took his jacket off and tossed it on the ground next to Clark, he paused long enough to kick his opposite one more time. "A victory kiss, and then I'll kill him." The boy said smugly, as he grabbed onto the young girl practically offering herself to him.

Taking a deep breath Rogue wrapped her arms around the boy, and began kissing him. She really hoped that her powers would work on him, or else she was in serious trouble. Her doubts faded as she felt their arms make some contact, and there were the lips. She held back a gasp, as she felt power and knowledge enter her body. She felt Kal begin to stiffen, as he felt the power that the sun had given him begin to leave his body.

Kal moaned in pain, as he felt himself weaken. He tried to push the slutty little leech that held onto him away, but her newly emerging strength countered his efforts. Not wasting his efforts this time he used all of his current strength, this time and threw her as far as he could, which was nowhere near as far as he should have been able to. He was about to use his super speed when he was hit from behind

Marie smirked as she stopped herself in mid-flight, and watched as a dark haired figure rejoined the fight. Clark Kent was about to get some serious pay back now that he not only had a moment to catch his breath, but because they were now about equal since Rogue had some of Kal's strength, and his ability to fly at the moment, she wondered if she had any of his other abilities and thought there was no time like the present to find out. She tried to rush the remaining hand ninjas, but was still moving at a regular speed, though when she floated above the ground and flew at the ninja, she was able to gather a number of them off Kitty, and fly high into the air and then dump them from a 100 feet in the air.

Rogue smiled, as she watched the ninjas fall to their deaths. "I could get used to this." The girl said, as she focused on the next group of ninja and dive-bombed them to repeat the process. She even smiled as a couple of arrows bounced off her now invulnerable hide. "Time ta take out the trash shugah." Rogue said, mimicking her mama's heavy southern accent. She wondered how long she would have these powers, she had held Kal for quite a bit, and had gotten only two or three of his abilities, though she was fairly sure that they were watered down.

Clark grinned as he finally got the upper hand in this fight for the first time. He slammed both of his hands into Kal's ears, and then brought his fist into Kal's unprotected stomach. He beat on him for a few moments before he finished him off with a hay maker that he was sure would have made his father and his dad proud of him. He sat on the ground for a moment, wanting to make sure that Kal stayed down this time around. Clark looked up as the girl that had stolen some of Kal's power was alternating between beating on the dome and dive-bombing the ninjas that were all over the place.

Wolverine bowed to his former master, as he prepared to face him again in a battle to the death. The last time that they had fought like this he had barely beaten him, and had it not been for his berserker side, the side of him that didn't feel pain and thought like an animal he would most likely be dead and Kitty either dead as well or enslaved. Now they were back where they had started, and he didn't think he might be as lucky as he was last time around.

"And so we are back to where we started once again are we not Logan?" Ogun said deciding to stick to English.

"Only cause ya refuse ta accept defeat Ogun."

The other man nodded. "I know, that is simply something I cannot explain. I fear that I shall forever be trying for my daughter."

"She ain't yer kid Ogun. I don't what happened ta ya that makes ya think that she's yours but she ain't."

"Are you telling me that worthless gaigin dog Carmen Pryde is worthy of Kitty?"

Logan growled at the memory of the former banker. "Man ain't worth a piece oh crap as far as I'm concerned. He practically sold Kitty ta ya, but he's still her father, and nothin ya do will change that."

"The same could be said for you my friend, you shall never replace Carmen Pryde."

"Think I don't know that bub? Kitty is one of the lights oh my world though. Ain't no way I'm lettin ya git yer claws inta her again."

"Then let us battle, and see who shall win this time old friend. Let us see if the student has truly surpassed the master." The two men whose souls were far older than their bodies stared at each other, as they took each others measure. On one side was a mutant who was once the student; on the other was a demonic ninja who once was the master. Two warrior beings, once they were as close as brothers, now for the world and for a child that they both cared for in their own ways they prepared to battle.

Ogun laughed, and lunged forward. Wolverine gritted his teeth and lunged with his own sword blade in one-hand, claws out in the other. Ogun flipped over, and Logan felt a stinging in his back. Spinning around he clipped the tip of one of the horns off the demon mask. Ogun kicked him in the stomach, and then spun away from a counter swing, then dropping to the ground he brought both of his feet into Wolverines knees. The mutant grunted, as he fell over, rolling he avoided the throwing blades and bounced back to his feet. The two circled again looking for an opening. Logan was already feeling tired from his other fights, and now he was having to fight one of the few people that could actually turn him inside out.

Snarling he swiped his claws at his friend, who merely shifted his weight somewhat, and let the claws miss him by centimeters. Ogun followed up with a blow to Logan's sword arm numbing the arm for a few moments. He followed up with kicking the blade out of Logan's hand. Logan back flipped away from the next swipe, and kicked a piece of derbies at the ninja. The demon blocked the rock, and sent it flying back at Wolverine, who ducked under the rock and tackled Ogun. The ninja took the tackle, and twisted the two of them around, and now he was on top. Logan growled, as he kicked the man in the chest sending him flying back.

The ninja didn't say anything as he twisted in the air and landed gently on his feet. The men charged again, kicking and punching at each other. The two glared at each other, but there was no hatred in their eyes, but respect as they continued to fight. "You have learned since our last encounter my student."

"What can I say bub, if I can beat ya as an animal I should be able to beat ya as a man as well."

"It is a good day to die my friend."

"We'll see bub." The two came at each other again, Ogun jumped in the air, and Logan swiped in a defensive move that barely did anything, or so he thought. When he turned around, he saw that Ogun was now limping. His old teacher had been cut on his foot deeply. Logan felt into his shoulder, and pulled out the remains of the sword that had been shattered into his side. Turning he lunged again, he dived for the ground and came up gutting his old mentor, he saw a long knife was also in his own stomach. "I'm sorry my friend."

"It is as it should be my friend. Who knows perhaps in the next life we will be able to fight together once again. In the next life eh my student?"

"I would like that master, until then though."

"Until then."

"No!" Amy couldn't believe it; they had just lost nearly half the ninjas, and both of the leaders. Kal-El was down, and who knows what else could go wrong. "I hope the strength that I get from you is worth it." The witch sneered, as she banished Kal-El back to his own dimension, he wasn't nearly as strong as the First had hoped for. Maybe next time they would find a better person to fight for them. She disappeared in a whirl of wind, her dome fell as she left letting the two mutant girls to get to their mentor and protector, while Giles and Dawn broke ranks and ran toward the bleeding Faith.


	25. Vigilance VS Training

Like a phoenix this story rises from the ashes and returns.

"Hey no using my lines!" Jean Grey growls, as a giant Firebird erupts in the air.

"Ah crap your supposed to be dead."

The woman in red and gold uniform smirks at the writer. "Please, I'm a comic book character. Besides does anyone even remember how many times that I've supposedly died?" She let out a dark laugh, as she eyed the writer. "Give me enough time and I'll rise again, maybe I'll even bring Captain America back with me next time."

"Do you really think that's necessary?"

"What, coming back or bringing Cap back?"

"Um, the bringing Cap back part actually."

"Please, it's Captain freaking America! If I don't do it, then someone else will."

"Right, well I think I'm gonna go now before you have any other inspirations." The writer begins to take several cautious steps back.

"Not so fast, you haven't done your disclaimer yet." The cosmic entity said, raising her hand and freezing the Texan in place.

"Oh yeah, silly me." The writer said, while straining against his invisible bonds.

"Do it now, or I shall be forced to delve into your mind to retrieve that information and I don't have any worries about frying your mind." The Phoenix threatened with a feral grin.

"Right, I don't own any of the characters in this here story they're from a multitude of other money making books and television shows that I ain't got any connections too. So sueing me is useless, look in some of the early chapters for the real owner names."

"There are you happy?"

"Well enough I suppose." The Phoenix, responds as she bats the writer away with a flick of her wrist.

* * *

**Vigilance vs. Training**

Jack O'Neil growled out a curse as he listened to the radio chatter from around the base. The vision or whatever it was had not been something that he had enjoyed, partly because he would never be able to place bets on the fight, or drink a beer while it went on either. The other was the headache that he now had from seeing things from another perspective. If he had wanted that sort of thing to happen, he would get the Ancients library downloaded into his brain again. It didn't take nearly as long, and Thor knew just the right size of aspirins to use to.

"All right people, tell me what's going on out there!" He commanded.

"Sir, we have multiple hostiles approaching."

"What type of threats are we dealing with?"

"I see both wizards, and wannabe Jaffa are trying to make their way into the base sir. We're holding them off for the moment, but there's no telling how long we have before they try to rush us. There's also no telling what they are capable of doing with their magic."

"Understood, keep me informed." Jack clicked his radio off and tried to figure out what he should try to do next. It was one thing to take on a group of wannabe Jaffa's, it was another thing entirely to try and fight a group of those same people when they had a large force of magic users on their side. He knew that they could disappear and reappear with nothing more than a thought. So the question was what more could they do when they actually had those wand things that they used? He had people with night vision and heat vision goggles, there were motion sensors set up to warn him, and a few other methods that could be used to find any intruders. Now the game was to shoot at each other from cover and see who got lucky, or who was better at stealth.

"Tell me you got some god news for me." The colonel said, as he rounded on the radio operator.

The man shook his head. "No sir, in fact we've lost contact with the team watching the Slayer house."

"Do we have any information on them yet?"

"No sir, their last report was normal, and then it's like they just fell off the system. No amount of calling has managed to pull them back up either."

"Great."

"The only piece of news I have that's not bad is that two unknowns were last seen heading this way. According to some reports these same things have been crisscrossing the globe all night."

"Any ideas what they might have been?"

"No sir, satellite was unable to get a decent picture of the areas before the whatever's moved on."

"Then do your best to guess, and have someone on standby for fast moving who know what's."

"Yes sir."

"How are the defenses holding up?"

"As well as can be expected sir." Two different groups had taken over two of the buildings on the opposite side of them, and had them in a cross fire of a sort, and were using the place as target practice.

Jack sighed at this. "Right, have all available personal get on defense then." He picked up is P-90 and headed for the door.

"Um sir, shouldn't you stay here?" One of the men operating the control room asked.

"Not when I need to be out there." The Colonel answered.

"What should we tell Commander Summers then?"

"Tell her to do as I say, not as I do." Jack returned, as he headed out the office and doors.

"Yes sir." One of the men said, somewhat confused by the answer.

"Finn report!" Jack said, as he dodged a red beam by jumping behind a small wall.

"We're being held back; by the way their fire is coming sir! There's too many different spells coming from that one," He jerked his head one way toward a building, "and Seth's followers have taken up hiding in that one over there." He pointed to the second closer building. Jack watched, as he saw the golden beams of Jaffa staffs flying toward them. "With all of this firepower being directed at us, we just don't have the time to mount a decent counter attack."

Jack nodded at this. "Any ideas on how to handle the pretend Jaffa?"

"None that I know of sir."

"Well, let's just deal with that then."

"And how do you intend to do that? We're pinned down remember?" Riley asked sarcastically.

"Simple, we make it personal." Jack said, smirking at the blonde man. "Bra'Tak!"

"I am here O'Neil." The elderly Jaffa said from a corner where he was hiding from the various blasts, and sending a few of his own staff blasts back at the two buildings.

"You want to go and show those guys over in that building what it means to really be a Jaffa?" Jack asked casually.

The old man's eyes sparked in anticipation at this. "It would be my pleasure to show them the worth of a true Jaffa warrior my friend."

"You go and have yourself some fun then." Jack said, waving the man on. The older man nodded, and retreated to collect Teal'c and his other fellow Jaffa.

"What do you think you're doing?" Finn questioned as he watched the man hunker down.

"Taking care of a problem." Jack said ignoring a handful of different colored spells as he unwrapped a candy bar and bit into it.

"But…"

"We have to either try and take out both those groups at the same time, or we have to take one of them out as fast as we can, and this is easily one of the fastest ways to do that." Jack shrugged, as he listened to the fire. "Here, hold this." He said handing the candy bar over, and then popped up and sprayed an area with bullets scattering a group of wizards, striking one or two and then popped down as a hail storm of energy blasts and emerald spells hit the air where he had just been a moment before, and sailed into the building that was another thirty feet away. "I think we got someone watching us." The man said, as he took his candy bar back.

"Understood sir."

"Carter you there?" Jack asked into his radio.

"Sir."

"Tell the eyes to switch to heat vision for a bit."

"Yes sir." The woman's voice said, he heard the command being relayed all over as hidden soldiers were easier to see, as the voice of his teammate gave them their orders, and people began withdrawing goggles from their packs.

Jack sighed, as he heard the clattering of someone as they began running. "All units be advised, we have an invisible hostile running along the side of the building."

"Anything else you want to do?"

"Nah not really, now we gotta wait though till there's a change with the Snake lovers camp."

"Yes sir." Riley said, as he fired a short burst at a man carrying a machine gun of some type.

* * *

Bra'Tac stood silently, as he looked at the camp of the enemy Tauri. This force had a combination of Tauri and Gould weaponry, making them very deadly. "Prepare yourselves my friends, for we are about to battle unknown odds." The group of Jaffa nodded, with their teacher. Before they could move out though, several figures in cloaks appeared behind them with loud cracks. The Jaffa spun around and had their staffs opened ready to fire at the people that had appeared behind them. The Order of the Phoenix froze, slightly surprised since they had what appeared to be a half dozen gigantic wands pointed at them. Mad-Eye Moody was the only one that wasn't caught off guard, and had already apparated out of the way and reappeared behind Bra'Tac with his wand covering the Jaffa. The former First Prime twirled his staff, and sent Moody's wand arm up. The grizzled old Auror moved in to close the distance and brought his wooden leg up to connect with the Jaffa's hand.

Bra'Tac spun with the blow, and hit the Auror with his staff in a one handed swing that sent Moody stumbling. The Auror rolled with the blow, and came up with his wand up and ready only to find himself faced with a steady staff.

"Hey, we're supposed to be friends here." Charlie Weasley said, as he cautiously slipped by Teal'c, and stepped between the two old fighters casting a shield charm that he normally used to deflect dragon's fire breath away.

The two looked at each other for a moment, and then relaxed their postures. "You are correct. You have my most sincere apologies. Next time though, do not appear behind my people and me unless you wish to do battle." Bra'tac informed the group.

"That's the kind of vigilance I love to see." Moody complimented, as both men lowered their weapons. Moody stumped up to Bra'Tac and offered his hand. "Mad-Eye Moody."

"I am Bra'Tac." The First Prime said, as he took the wizards arm in a warrior clasp.

"You and your people impress me, not many people truly understand the need for constant vigilance." The Auror shot an annoyed glance at the rest of the Order who rolled their eyes at him.

"Indeed we do, as you obviously do as well."

"Aye that I do." Moody confirmed.

"Come then, as one warrior to another let us show you the difference between real Jaffa and these pretenders that are hiding." Bra'Tac offered.

Moody grinned at this. "Sounds good. Kingsley! Get the rest of the Order up with the other fighters, and hold your ground unless told otherwise. All right?" The Auror growled at the dark skinned man before turning to the Jaffa leader. "Let's go, we got things to do."

"Indeed." Teal'c agreed.

The group of Jaffa and single wizard crept silently along till they were standing alongside the building that housed their enemies.

"Are you ready my friend?" Bra'tac questioned the grizzled wizard.

"Hold on." The Auror said as he looked at the wall. "We got four of them waiting for someone to enter."

"Are there anyways to get in without alerting them?" Bra'Tac questioned.

Mad-Eye let his eye roamed around the building, as he tried to find an unguarded entrance. "Nope, they got all ways in and out covered with either equipment of some type or guards. Can your lot take care of the four guards?"

"Where in the room are they?" Bra'Tac asked, a craggy grin covered his face, as he realized what an asset a warrior like Moody was. Moody grinned back and used his wand to create a smaller version of the room and show the locations of the guards.

"Do they carry true weapons like our staffs, or do they carry the weapons of this planet?"

"They got two of those staff things like your lot have, they also have a couple of those gum things that the muggles have."

"Very well. Teal'c you and the others know what to do."

"Indeed Master Bra'Tac." Teal'c said bowing his head, he then made a series of hand motions, which the other Jaffa obviously understood, as they took positions and then slammed through the door.

Moody watched in appreciation as the Jaffa spilled into the room, and subdued the people inside. "Your lot are efficient." He said, as the two of them strode into the room after the others, and with Bra'Tacs orders and the advantage of Moody's eye cleared the building of all of the followers of Seth.

"Automated defenses." Bra'Tac spat angrily, scowling as he looked at a weapon that shot three times then turned and fired two shots.

"And only eight guards." Moody growled, "Add in the six that are outside and dead, and this whole mess stinks of a trap."

"Agreed. Check the other rooms for anything that might hint as to what it is that is happening. Perhaps we can find a clue as to the whereabouts of our enemies." Bra'Tac ordered his fellow Jaffa. "Be sure to take down these automated weapons as well." The Jaffa nodded, and began searching the various rooms.

Moody saw that the largest of the Jaffa who was dressed in green like the muggle soldiers was talking into a communication device of some sort, and relaying the lack of fighters to the muggle known as O'Neill. The two men stalked into one room that had been cleared of all of the furniture, a magical circle was painted on the ceiling though. Moody cursed, he hadn't studied Runes when he was at Hogwarts, and had no idea what it was that this thing said, though he did have a rough idea what these sorts of things were used for.

"What do you know of these things Mad-Eye?" Bra'Tac asked, as he studied the design as well.

"Hard to tell. It might be a summoning spell, I've seen a few of them before, they're used to summon demons mainly or it could be some sort of transportation spell using the same type of ritual magic, but these things are supposed to be rare I've only ever seen a handful of them in all my life."

"Then perhaps we should proceed with caution."

"Good idea." The two were interrupted by a rumbling sound that caused Bra'Tac to spin around, while Moody merely cocked his head letting his magical eye roam around the room this action put the two of them back to back. The next moment they were surrounded by an unknown flash of light and transported to a new location.

"Down!" The two men ordered, as they dropped beneath an onslaught of attacks. The two of them came up and fired into the ground throwing rocks and dust up into the air. Twirling his staff Bra'Tac blasted a Death Eater then swung his staff and caught a Tauri behind his legs. Moving swiftly, he swatted a wand away from his face with his hand, while he gut slammed another with his staff. The First Prime barely reacted as he snapped the leg of another Tauri.

Moody let his grim game face on, as he sent out a slicing curse, and then pushed a muggle weapon pointed at him another way, while his wooden claw leg slashed another muggle. He transfigured a large muggle weapon of some type into an angry badger, who began to tear into a group of surprised muggles.

Bra'Tac locked his staff with a pretender, but broke away just as quickly spinning out of the way catching two Tauri and a Death Eater, he then stretched his staff out and broke the arm of the staff user then brought his staff upon the head of the Pretender. He watched in surprise, as his staff then changed in his hands into a large golden cobra. Swinging the creature around, he spun twice, and then released the hissing creature into the midst of a number of wizards who began batting at the angry creature who was slapping with its heavy tail, and striking with its teeth. The former First Prime then drew a pair of daggers and lunged at the nearest enemy.

Moody caught a muggle with a gum, and used the man's weapon to block one of the staffs that would likely have crushed his skull in. He sent a binding hex at both of the muggles, then sent an explosive hex into a group of muggles and Death Eaters. Moody spun around, and then struck out with cutting, reducto and banishing spells at a Death Eater who had a fair-sized shield. Growling in annoyance, the former Auror sent a flame at the man's feet and watched as the Death Eater apparated out of the way of the fire. The Death Eater was slammed into the ground by a stray spell as he reappeared.

Bra'Tac sliced a wand in half with one dagger and sliced open the face of a Tauri with his other. A spell grazed him, and the First Prime was flung through the air and nearly lost his grip on his daggers, as they bucked in his hands, and tried to go the other way. Bra'Tak then pulled back and threw both daggers, one was blasted off course by a spell, but the other was true and slammed into the face of a masked Death Eater. Bra'Tak then grabbed a Tauri from behind and pulled the young person's arm up, and used his weapon and sprayed bullets at another group that was coming at him.

Moody reached into his robes and tossed a couple of acidic potions one-way. Grinning, Moody then shot some stunners and kicked out with his claw leg again, and grinned even bigger as the claw slammed into another Death Eater.

"Pull back!" A voice called out. "We need to regroup and think out a new attack." Three or four cracks followed that, as the remaining wizards disappeared, while the handful of remaining pretenders ran off.

"Well my friend that was interesting." Moody said, as he cancelled the spell on Bra'Tacs staff.

"Indeed." Bra'Tac said, as he eyed his weapon suspiciously where it now lay on the ground, the same as always. He nudged it with his foot just in case though.

"A lot of others would have fallen to that kind of attack." Moody growled, as he floated the staff weapon into the hands of its owner. "Constant Vigilance is one of the reasons that we're even alive today."

"That, and our training." Bra'Tac countered his new found friend. "Never underestimate the use of training, for constant training it lets you be ready to deal with the problem. Even if your mind is scared you will not hesitate, but will act."

"Knowing where they are is more important though, allows you to get the drop on them and to turn the tables on them when they come up behind you." Moody countered to the First Prime. "Being prepared for them coming and all that."

Bra'Tac laughed at this. "Let us agree to disagree then friend Mad-Eye of England."

"I think that I can accept that." The man said. The two had a number of bumps bruises and scratches, but bore their new injuries with the pride and craziness of one who had earned their pains. Bra'Tac walked with a limp, and one of his hands jerked a bit while Moody stumped along with a hole in his shoulder and another in his side.

* * *

Voldemort turned at the sound of apparation, he cocked his head at the four Death Eaters that were a grimy mess. The four fell to the ground at the feet of their Lord and Master. "Report." The Dark Wizard snarled at the groveling group.

"Master," one of them said, "our force was destroyed, we barely made it out with our lives."

"And who did this?" The Slytherian heir hissed coolly at the Death Eater.

"The blood traitor Moody, and some old muggle dressed in some type of armor tore through both our muggle and wizard troops my Lord."

"I see, I sent 15 wizards and 25 of those muggles, and yet you failed to deal with two old men?"

"Y-y-yes my Lord." The Death Eater whimpered out.

"Crucio!" The Death Eater jerked, and screamed as his pain receptors were toyed with. "I reward those that do a good job, but I will punish those that fail me." The Wizard snarled at the wizard in anger.

"Yes Master." the Death Eater said, as the man was released from the curse. The Death Eater scampered away before the Dark Lord decided to renew the curse.

The Dark Lord stalked toward a large double window and looked outside. "Fortunately, I did not expect that plan to bring out the best of results, though it should have done better than what it did." The Dark Lord turned to shoot a scathing look at the Death Eaters that had failed him. "I have made use of our time here though, and have found a use for one of this town's great-unused resources. With this resource I shall destroy the Blood traitors, the halfbloods, Mudbloods and muggles that dare to stand against the First." Voldemort smirked cruelly as he stared out the window. "And now we destroy them." The wizard said, raising his wand and began chanting a spell.


	26. Chapter 26

The Texaswookie tries to fight against the grip that holds him. Sam Winchester smirks, his face sweating as he holds the writer in his mental grip over a pit with sharpened pikes at the bottom. "You know I wouldn't do that, my control is nowhere near where it should be." The demon hunter said, as he waves his hands and the writer swallows nervously as he slips a couple of inches. "You know what I want right?"

"Yeah, yeah." The writer sighs before he begins the usual spiel. "I the writer do hereby forsake any claim whatsoever to the characters in this story. Supernatural, Btvs, Charmed, Smallville characters belong to the W.B or C.W not sure which one I say anymore. Harry Potter characters belong to J.K Rowling. Um Dukes of Hazzard and Highlander characters belong to Warner Brothers and MGM. The X-Men and all connected characters belong to Marvel Comics. Did I forget any?" The Texan asks sarcastically as he struggles.

"If you did I'm sure someone will be nice enough to write a review to remind you." Sam said, as he tossed the Texan away from the pit and into a pile of garbage.

"Swell." The Texan says, as he brushes all sorts of crap off of himself.

* * *

_Last time on Family Reunion _

_The Dark Lord stalked toward a large double window and looked outside. "Fortunately, I did not expect that plan to bring out the best of results, though it should have done better than what it did." The Dark Lord turned to shoot a scathing look at the Death Eaters that had failed him. "I have made use of our time here though, and have found a use for one of this town's great-unused resources. With this resource I shall destroy the Blood traitors, the halfbloods, Mudbloods and muggles that dare to stand against the First." Voldemort smirked cruelly as he stared out the window. "And now we destroy them." The wizard said, raising his wand and began chanting a spell._

**And now the conclusion**

* * *

"Um sir?"

"Yeah, what?"

"I think you need to see this sir." The Colonel took the offered binoculars and looked at what had spooked the man. Jack lowered the binoculars shook them then looked again. "Crap." Jack said, summarizing the newest problem they now faced.

"Problem sir?" Carter asked worriedly, as she saw the stony look that her superior was wearing, and past experiences told her that was never good.

"Oh not much Carter, we just got a bunch of zombies heading this way." The Colonel said sarcastically. "Oh and Carter.

"Yes sir."

"When the hell did we get sucked into a 'Resident Evil' video game?"

"Says the man on a first name basis with the Roswell aliens." Muttered a nearby soldier whom began to fire into the army of undead that was heading their way.

"More shooting less talking Henderson." Jack growled, as he let loose with his own P-90. A bald black man with a gold stud earring shot a red beam that struck one of the leaders in the pack. "Cool lightshow." Jack commented, as he saw the effects the red spell had on the zombie as it was lighted on fire.

The man nodded grimly, as he looked at the oncoming force of zombies who were walking over their brother, though a few others did catch on fire. "I guess this means You-Know-Who is here." The man said swallowing nervously, as he sent a flaming X that went slicing through a handful of the creatures before it struck one. "I really hate Inferi."

"Take out there legs!" Jack shouted at his people. "Any known weaknesses on those things?" He barked at the wizard.

"Fire sir." The wizard answered automatically.

"All right, gather your wizard buddies and try and slow them down. I'll get a few things together that might slow them down as well. Who knows together they might be enough to stop those things. Carter your with me."

"Yes sir." Kingsley said, as he fired another fire spell.

Jack and Carter rushed back inside, and entered the temporary armory. The two looked around, Jack paused for a moment looking at the staff weapons, but decided those were for the super vampires before he moved on to the explosives with Carter. They passed the fragmentation grenades, and went ahead and pulled out AN-M14 TH3 incendiary hand grenades. Several soldiers entered behind them, and began helping with pulling the cases of explosives down and heading out to distribute the weapons.

"Carter, grab that case and lets go." Jack ordered, as he pointed at one case, the two grabbed it by either side and returned to their hiding place, and began passing out the contents of the case. "All right people." Jack yelled into his radio, "On my mark everyone is to throw one of their grenades got me?"

"Yes sir!" Came from up and down the line.

Jack looked, and saw that several of the wizards were taking slow but steady steps back, they were being forced back by the decomposing bodies though. He winced, as he saw one wizard that didn't move fast enough get dragged down, a scream was cut off as he was buried below the zombies. "Pull back!" Jack ordered the wizards. The dark skinned man nodded, and the group each sent forth one last spell in a wave, which staggered the army and then they disappeared with loud popping sounds.

"Now!" Jack ordered, the soldiers all threw or shot their AN-M14 TH3's, and gaps began appearing in the wall of undead as the combined power of nearly a hundred incendiary bombs combined to take out several lines of zombies. Jack grinned wolfishly. They had hurt the undead monstrosities. "Fire bugs forward!" The soldiers with flamethrowers stepped forward and the flames shot put of their weapons blasting more of the suckers away.

The wizards appeared on the overhanging ledge of the building and began raining down more of their fire spells. Jack didn't know why but he turned to look as two red heads stepped slightly in front of the others and steadied their wands. "Draconis Inferno!" The stocky one cried out, as a stream of fire three or four times as powerful as a flamethrower shot out. The boy stumbled a bit the, spell obviously took a lot out of him. The long haired kid was next and did something with his wand, and said something that Jack didn't quiet get and he watched a blast of flame shot out of the wand and encircled the building and the defensive perimeter.

Jack put his sunglasses on, and threw another grenade. He looked up and saw the redheads being supported, one by a pretty blonde the other by another older red head that was going bald. Jack turned back to the flames, wondering how long that wall would hold as soldiers began to take pot shots at the limbs as the zombies tried to find a way through the flames. From the tired looks on the kids' faces, he doubted that they would be able to pull those stunts off again very soon.

* * *

Everyone gathered the last bits of things in the museum and loaded them up except for a few random items that were cursed or were actually cheap imitations that actually had no business even being in storage much less put on display. Xander paused in the Egyptian room and looked at his former girlfriend sadly. He never did find out why this exhibit had never moved on, but instead had become a permanent attraction, but he had been grateful as he had been able to come here and talk to a girl who had loved him for who he was. Sure he had been happy with Anya, but something about Amtamp had been special beyond even her magical youth sucking powers. "Bye beautiful." The one-eyed carpenter said, as he traced the design of one of the glyphs. "Sorry you never got to live that life that you deserved to get a chance at." He turned to see Prue standing there waiting for him to join the rest of them. "Okay, lets get the hell out of Dodge." The man said, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he trailed after the witch.

The two of them were the last two to leave, Xander calmly closed the doors to the building, a slight sniffle escaped him before he walked down the steps that all museums seem to have. "So we ready to go? I should probably get the girls back to the others sometime tonight."

"Sounds like a good idea." One of the soldiers said, as he slammed the back of the truck shut. Thanks to the witches and wizards all of the things had actually loaded into two trucks.

"Hey, what is that?" Cyclops asked, as he saw a force of figures moving toward their position.

Xavier frowned as he stared at the shadowy mass. "I'm afraid that this is trouble Scott." The mentor of the X-Men said to one of his first students. "X-Men prepare for battle."

"Inferi." McGonagall and Flitwick said worriedly.

"You know those things?" Xander asked, as he looked for the potentials who were standing with Conner McLeod.

"Yes, and the only way to destroy them is with fire."

Cyclops nodded at this. "Maybe we can slow them down then." The mutant team leader said, as he fired an optic blast that dug into the street making a large pit in the street that the things would now have to go around to get at them.

"So cousin, is that all you got?" An amused voice crackled over a radio.

"Now Bo be polite, he's doing the best he can. How about we show them how we do it though."

"Sure thing Luke. One Hazzard style way of dealing with monsters vulnerable to fire!" Everyone watched as two arrows went flying from the top of the building and struck the center of the force of monsters. The twin explosions were huge, as it was obvious the boys were using large doses of gunpowder in their arrows, as the ground shook from the power.

The soldier shook his head. "I'm not sure what's worse. Zombies after us, or the fact that Farm boys are having to be the ones to save us from them."

"Professor get Colossus out of here." Cyclops said, "maybe we got a chance here if we hold those things back long enough for those two to blow them up, we might be able to either get away easier or turn them into useless scraps for the coroner."

"They are not the only ones that can help Scott." Storm said, her eyes went white as she focused on the creatures heading their way. "Lighting I summon you!" She called, holding her arm up. The others all watched as a lighting bolt struck the middle of the army and scattered the group.

"Whooweee! Now that darlin was one sweet shot." Bo said over the radio.

"All right, now it's my turn." Havoc said, the blonde walked closer to the incoming forces and clenched his hands. The white circle on his chest glowed brightly; he then fired a bolt of white cosmic energy that sliced a new hole through the advancing monster forces.

"So how do we explain this one to Colonels Finn and O'Neil?" One soldier asked, as the various witches and wizards added fire spells into the mix of dynamite arrows and mutant powers that were blowing the undead up.

"And to think we thought those arrows of theirs were useless or overkill." Another said, as he watched as 15 of the zombies were blown away.

"Well things can't get much more humiliating now can they? I mean we've just been saved by farmers, witches and mutants."

"Oh yeah? Imagine being saved by someone just slightly over 5 ft dressed in a cheerleader outfit, valley girl accent, and might weigh over a hundred pound if she had a really heavy sword strapped on her back and she was soaking wet, and you'll know how some of the Sunneydale swim and football teams felt." The soldiers grimaced at that before they raised their weapons and began shooting at the things. The potentials smirked as the soldiers realized what they had the potential to do now.

Conner watched for a minute before he realized that while they were busy watching they were being flanked by more of the unholy creatures that were coming from the sides. He grabbed two of the soldiers and shoved them toward the trucks. "When I tell ya to, I want the two of ye to burn rubber."

"We'll go with them." Jesse Duke said, as he and Cooter followed after the two. The two Hazzard men each slid behind the wheel of a truck, ignoring the protests of the soldiers as they revved the engines up.

The Highlander jumped into the back of a truck and looked around, he found what he wanted and after gesturing to Xander and the potentials they lifted one of the crates up and out. Conner tore open the crate and found just what he needed; he drew a broadsword and handed it to Xander then began handing out small lightweight swords to the girls. "Ye may not have enhanced strength and speed just yet, but ye do have some skill with these weapons already. Hopefully those skills will be enough to help in the fight that we have coming."

"No offense and all to you, but swords aren't exactly going to stop those things." One of the potentials said as se took a few swipes with the sword as she got adjusted to the swords weight.

"Not as they are now, no they won't. Conner said, as he examined the lightweight blades that the girls would be using. "But if these regular blades were turned into flaming blades, how much damage do ye think that they would do to our little problem?"

Xander grinned at this. "I say light me up!"

"Aye as do I. Professor Flitwick can ye charm these blades to be on fire?"

The small man squeaked in excitement, as he began casting the required charms. There that should work do be careful with those tings though they are dangerous.

"Aye, we'll do our best." Conner slammed the hilt of his flaming weapon on the side of the truck. "Go! Get that stuff out of here!" The trucks tires squealed as they tore off two arrows forced the Inferi to pull back.

* * *

Buffy shook her head as the last traces of the vision faded away. "Remind me to never make that big guy mad." The Slayer said, shaking her head. She knew when it came to raw power that both of those big guys more than likely outclassed her in more ways than she would like to think. Knowing this was kind of humbling, but in a good way. She hadn't had that kind of problem really since, well since Adam or maybe Glory and they had been bad guys so she couldn't depend on them to help out. She would have to remember that the half giant was someone to stay on the good side of though.

"Only if you promise to do the same for me." Angel returned to the Slayer.

"Done."

"Good, lets go then while the Dark wizards are distracted then." The two nodded communicating silently, and grabbed the SG1 archeologist by the arms and rushed through the door followed by Methos. The group then did flying leaps over the fence and landed behind some headstones.

"Um a little warning next time?" Daniel asked, as he held his hand in a bit of pain from the jumping then being dragged down onto the ground.

"Sorry, we were a bit busy what with the getting shot at, two major fights, and not mentions crazy visions that forced their way into our minds of a fight that occurred." Buffy drawled at the man, the Slayer then pulled the man's knife out of its sheath, looked at it then tossed it over the headstone. They heard a cry of pain and Daniel looked in shock, as he saw a follower of Seth lying on the ground with his knife stuck in his stomach. Daniel shivered, he knew the minute that the man pulled the weapon out the other man would most likely bleed to death.

"Don't waste your breath being concerned." Angel said, sensing the objection the man was about to raise. He had seen wannabe peace mongers enough to see the signs. Though this was one of the first that he knew that carried multiple guns on his body. "We have a lot more of them to deal with." He then pointed to five robed figures and nine figures holding guns and staff weapons. Two soldiers popped out from their cover and ran in a leapfrog fashion spraying a quick stream of bullets at the enemy before they came up near the Slayer and the infiltration team.

"Commander Summers, it's good to see you again." One of the soldiers cried out. "So how do we deal with this problem?"

"Lets see, we're out manned and outgunned as is usual when things got to start going bad. I guess we got to figure a way to out think them."

"And that way would be?" Methos asked.

"No idea yet." The Slayer said cheerfully. "Personally I thought we could just fake it until we came up with something. I mean plans with floor plans and stuff so rarely go the way we want them to anyways."

"You'd think that I would have remembered that." Angel said lightly. "Instead I had to trust Fred that, that kind of thing would work, then Gwen went and beat me to the punch."

"You sure it wasn't just the fact that you shouldn't let Watchers help you with the planning?" Buffy asked with a smile, as she took a minor dig at Wesley.

"Yeah, pretty sure I could trust him at that time." Angel said, forgetting whom he was talking to.

"All right, lets do this now shall we?" Rachel asked, as she slid out of a shadow, and startled Daniel and the SGC soldiers. Before they could make a move though something changed, the magic users all disappeared with loud pops and even the Jaffa wannabe's appeared concerned over the fact that their allies had just runaway for some unknown reason.

"Okay, that was a surprise." Daniel said with some surprise. "Anyone know what would make a bunch of magic wielding death troops take off like that?"

"Nope, its not like they could sense our power, and I doubt that would impress them anyways."

"Then what scared them off, and do we have to fight it?" One of the soldiers asked, as he tossed Dr. Jackson a gun.

"That is a good question, why would they leave with odds that are nearly two to one at least as far as they knew that is." Methos said, as he studied the area with the practiced eye of a person who slipped through the cracks to avoid trouble of all sorts his entire extra long life. "And why are they so cavalier about what happens to their allies? Does this point out dissension in the ranks, or maybe a case of to many generals?"

"Or to many evil bad guys who are to busy with their own stupid idiotic plans to take over the world that they can't seem to realize that they need to be working together." Buffy pointed out.

"And would you actually want them to get along?" Daniel asked her.

"No not really, but it is fun to make fun of them and be able to point it out at the victory party later."

"Well then save it for the party princess." Methos said, as he eyed the area suspiciously.

Angel sniffed and let out a disgusted snort. "I hate zombies." He growled to no one in particular.

"Huh?" The others all asked, but then jumped back toward the fence that surrounded the temple they had just left. They watched as figures began pulling themselves out of the ground. Buffy and Angel grimaced as they saw the undead rise, in some cases the figures that rose were the deformed faces of people that they hadn't been quiet fast enough to save, or in Angels case he had actually placed a couple of them in the ground. He recognized at least two different figures, that was thing with zombies the amount of decomposition didn't matter to them they still rose.

"I got a really bad feeling about this." Daniel said, as he looked at his gun then at the zombies.

"Join the club Solo." One of the soldiers bit out, as he saw the figures pull themselves out.

"Um Buff, I'm not sure, but there's something off about those zombies. I'm feeling really dark magic's around here. Off hand I'd say these are a type of drone zombie."

"What? You mean there's more than one kind of zombie?" One of the soldiers asked, as the force began marching toward the exit oblivious to the fact that there were a half dozen living beings for them to feast on at the moment.

"Of course there are." Buffy. Angel and Methos said.

"Really?" Daniel asked with a bit of interest. "What are the different types of zombies then? I thought they were all one type."

"Nope there's your drone type like these guys that just march and make the occasional wailing noise, but stay quiet for the most part."

"They're the ones that you see in the movies." Buffy supplied, as she readied her scythe.

"Then there's the leader type, who have all the memories of the former bodies they can talk the same languages that they could talk before hand, and can somehow control drone types. They usually have their control through some type of jewelry like a pendent or a medal or something like that. The only thing is they're a tad bit more vulnerable than the drones. So when you take them out, the drones usually go back to their graves."

"Vulnerable how?" Daniel asked.

"Well usually the leader types you take apart their bodies or cast a certain type of spell and they die, but with drone types you usually have to have a certain element to destroy them usually fire or water. Though there are a few types that if you shoot them enough times they might die, or it could be because their bodies are to filled with metal that they can't move, or you blew their limbs off."

"Yeah, are you telling me that you never played 'Zombies Ate My Neighbors' when you were a kid Dr. Jackson?" One of the soldiers asked with a smirk on his face.

"Only in this fight there's no giant baby to fight as a boss." Buffy returned at the soldier.

"So do they really regenerate?" Daniel asked, ignoring the fact that they were actually referring to video games at a time like this.

"If they have the energy."

"And where do they get the energy?"

"Same way you get energy, they have to eat. Unfortunately they prefer their food to still be moving."

"So are they capable of communication at all? Perhaps the growls they do are some form of communication."

"Do you always ask useless questions mixed in with decent questions?"

"And since these are drone types what do you reckon will happen?" A soldier asked, while Daniel gaped at the slight insult.

"Most likely they'll head either to their master, or they'll be heading somewhere that he wants them to go to."

"Master?"

"The guy who made them decide that they didn't need to be taking a dirt nap right now." The group paused as a small force of the creatures turned to look at them, the followers of Set had been eaten at the beginning since they had been standing in front of the gate. The fence that had surrounded the graveyard had long since fallen down though.

"Damn." The two champions said, as around two hundred of the zombies turned to face them.

"Any last words?" One of the men said grimly.

"Um not really." Daniel said.

"Okay, just though I'd check."

"Go for the limbs." Buffy said.

"Or the heads, whichever you prefer." Angel finished before flashing the Slayer a grin. "There always is something happening around you isn't there?"

"You know me, I'm Miss excitement." The Slayer shot back at her friend.

"And here I was afraid I was going to miss a couple of hours of Jack and Sam flirting while in a bad situation." Daniel mumbled to himself.

"So any ideas?"

"Well, we either run as fast as we can and pray that this bunch doesn't have any speed whatsoever, or we stand here and fight them."

"All those for running?" The Slayer and Ensouled Vampire grinned as the group began assaulting the creatures with their guns. They saw the fist row of the zombies stagger back as bullets struck them at waist and knee height. They grimaced though, as this didn't really slow them down. "Okay, that's not going to work." The Slayer said, as she took an uncertain step back. "New plan people, we leap frog it. Doc you and one of the soldier boys start running about twenty yards. Meth you and Rachel go with them, when you get there cover us the best you can. Go!" The four took off leaving the other three behind. Buffy and Angel each held their weapons ready if the creatures got close enough. Buffy swung her scythe, and broke a heavy branch off a nearby tree and threw the branch like a javelin, and watched as it skewered a couple of the zombies they continued to push till they were free and were able to march onward.

"Come on!" The three rushed off from where they were standing and made it toward the fence, the two champions grabbed a fallen headstone and flung it toward the creatures crushing two of the creatures. "This is going to be a long night at this rate." Methos said, as he watched a handful of bullets ripped an arm off the monsters.

"He's right commander we won't be able to keep this up for long, and we know that those things have friends who are probably giving some of the others troubles."

"So any ideas?"

"Run them over with a car?"

Buffy grinned as she looked at Rachel. "That idea is so crazy that it might actually work." The Slayer said to the Immortal. "What do you think Angel?"

"There's a moving truck." The vampire said, pointing ahead to a big truck that was sitting there in the shadows. "Guess the movers couldn't wait to get out of town."

"I'll get it started." One of the soldiers said, as he ran on ahead and began to hotwire the truck while the others stayed to slow the zombies down.

Methos shifted his feet nervously as the things got close enough for him to use his sword. "How long will it probably take him to start that truck up?"

"Depends on how bad a shape the truck is in, and how good he is at hotwiring stuff." Angel said, as he did a spin that opened the stomachs of three of the zombies, and cut off the wrists of four others on the back swing. The things didn't even react as they lost their limbs.

"This is getting us nowhere people!" Rachel said, "maybe if we split up?"

"With fifty a piece going at us?" The Slayer asked with a mocking smile. "Come on now, how long do you really think you'd last?"

"As long as I made it past you I'd be okay."

"Trust me, you can't out run me."

"Maybe not, but are you saying you could just turn and run? You're too noble to do that my dear and that will be your downfall one of these days." The Immortal said as she decapitated two figures who were set upon by their partners.

"Yeah but it keeps my life interesting." Buffy countered as she sliced through the mass of arms that was reaching for them.

"Buffy, we have to run we can't stand here any longer or we'll be brought down."

"Move." The Slayer said, they all nodded and ran towards the truck, which finally rumbled to life. The soldier pulled the emergency break and jumped out of the cab, they watched as the truck drove into the zombies.

"What did you do that for?"

"Shut up!" The soldier growled at the vampire, as he pushed a button in his hand they all watched as a large explosion came from the truck and burned a large number of zombies with it.

"All right I'm impressed." The vampire said, as they saw that around 80 of the undead creatures were now noting more than ash, and another 20 of them either had burns or lost limbs.

"C4." The soldier explained to the others. "Never go on a mission without it."

"Good thing."

"Yeah come on they're out of the fight for now though. We have people to help out though cause I doubt anyone else is going to be happy to be seeing those things." The slayer said, as she led them toward one of their three bases.

* * *

Harry wasn't sure what it was, but he could sense something out there just beyond his sight or maybe hidden where he could not see. The feeling he had was of a dark creature or creatures. He looked over at Thanos, who pawed the ground in anticipation. The flying horse obviously knew that soon there would be bloodshed on this night. Remus stared into the dark and glared. "What is it Remus? What's out there?" He questioned his former teacher.

"Trouble cub." The werewolf answered, as his amber eyes glowed in the night, as he felt with both his magic and his senses for what was out there.

"Looking for me Mooney?" A mocking voice asked, as Sirus Black strode out of a shadow.

"What are you doing here?" Remus asked, as he positioned himself between the trio and the First.

"Now Mooney, is that anyway to greet an old friend? And I thought you were supposed to be the nice one." The image of Sirus Black said mockingly as he strode toward them." Remus shook in anger and fear, as the image stopped before him. "So tell me Remus old friend did you even bother helping my godson grieve, or did you ignore him completely? I find it simply amazing when you can find the time to bother about Harry and me. I mean the boy didn't even know you or I existed till he was what thirteen years old." Remus rocked on his feet, as if he ad been gut punched and hung his head in shame.

"Remus. Mooney, don't listen to him, its not really him." Harry said, as he stood beside his friend placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Well look at the time, other people to torment later folks. Be sure to give my regards to the rest of the people you see." With a flash of light he was gone leaving a shaken Remus.

"Now what?" Ron asked, as he helped Remus sit down.

"Now you die boy." A figure said, as it stepped into the light. They all turned and looked up and saw the figures that were now standing up to them. They were a group of Warlocks, they had been promised a chance at the fabled Charmed Ones but these children would be a good practice run on what they would do to the Charmed Ones.

"Alongside the Warlocks stood a couple of Immortals who all had drawn weapons ready in case there was more to this place than met the eyes. The Winchesters each brought up a weapon and trained it on the newly arrived group. "Drop the blades or I'll put a couple of slugs in you." Dean threatened, his shotgun leveled at the sword wielders.

"That thing would probably be of more use against them than it would be us boy." The leader of the Immortals said smugly, as he raised his sword in a guard position.

"That may be, but perhaps you could allow me to distract you?" A accented voice said. The group turned and saw Richie and Joe standing behind Duncan, the two immortals held their swords ready.

"Ah one of the infamous Highlander's. You are the one that was born Duncan are you not? Of course the youngling at your side is all the real proof that I need of that, everyone knows that you travel with the old man and the boy."

"Come then, I believe you wanted a fight." Duncan said beckoning them forward. The Immortals nodded, as they stepped forward two of the five stepped forward while the others stood back to let the others through.

"Sammy, we got our own problems to deal with." Dean said, as he turned to face the warlocks.

Sam nodded in agreement as he pointed his own gun at the monsters. "Looks like it. Think we got the right kind of stuff to deal with these things?"

"Only one way to find out." Dean said, as he shot a round of rock salt at his Warlock while Sam shot a stream of fire at the other two who blinked themselves to the side.

The warlock Dean had shot staggered back rubbing his shoulder where he had been hit. "If you want to play we'll play." One of the Warlocks snarled, as he shot a ball of energy at the brothers who ducked under the blast.

"What do we do Remus?" Hermione asked, as she took a few steps back from the fights that were occurring on either side of them. On one side there was swordsmen waving their blades around as they battled each other, and on the other there was three Warlocks shooting it out with the Winchester brothers.

"Right now we keep our shield charms up Hermione." Remus said, as he felt an energy ball slam into his shield knocking him back a few steps.

"How long do you think we can keep this pace up though professor?" Ron asked, as he felt a bullet slam into his own shield

"He's right Remus, we can't stay here." Tonks said, we'll have to side along them out of here."

"Not happening blood traitor." A new voice said, as a new figure stepped out of the shadows.

"Oh come on, how many more of you are there out here!" The Auror asked in annoyance, as she dropped into a dueler's stance.

"As many as needed to deal with you pathetic wannabe heroes blood traitor." The figure said as it stepped forward, it dropped beneath a stunner and swung a leg out that knocked the witch off her feet. "Contrary to popular belief, not all muggle methods are useless either."

"Who are you?" Remus asked, as he brought his wand up.

"Me? Why I'm merely a trainer."

"Trainer for what?"

"Well, since you asked so nicely I'll show you." The man said, raising his hand and snapped his fingers. The wizards heard the sound of growling and inched closer together nervously. "I'm sure my pets will have fun with all of you." The group stood back to back, as twenty wild looking dog like creatures began circling them.

"W-wha-what are they Professor?" Ron asked, as he tried to stand tall against these things.

"They're called hellhounds Ron." Hermione said, as she bit her lip worriedly. "They're bred to do two things."

"And what might that be?" Harry asked, as he watched the glowing eyes of the creatures.

"To hunt down and kill anything, and to guard places." Remus said, as he warily eyed the monsters that were now facing them. "They're not terribly agreeable to wand magic either, in fact they shrug off a number of spell and usually have to be killed with a blade of some kind."

"Deal with the other magic users." A new voice said, as a lanky figure walked out of the mansion. Everyone turned to look as a green haired man stood in front of them. Oz stood there clad only in a pair of ripped jeans and shoes that were on the verge of falling apart.

"Are you sure? They're not exactly easy to kill."

"Be like prom night." Oz said shrugging the concern off, as he faced off against the hellhounds. Remus looked like he wanted to say something, but the popping sounds of Death Eaters appearing shut him off. He was just going to have to hope that Oz could survive long enough against the creatures so that either one of the wizards or one of the demon hunters were able to turn their attention to them. Though personally he thought that he was leaving a brave young man to die.

"You ready to die boy?" The trainer of the hellhounds asked with glee, as he prepared to have the muggle killed. After the green haired fool was dead he would then have the werewolf and the Potter boy's friends killed, leaving the brat for the Dark Lord to deal with. _'He would be greatly awarded for doing this task.'_

The boy smiled softly at this. "Watch." Was all he said, before he let out a painful grunt and the Death Eater watched the impossible happen. This boy was actually changing before his eyes. He watched in shock as bones shifted, his face became longer, his teeth and nails lengthened, and fur covered his body. The monster before him was about a foot and half taller than he had been when he was human and had muscles all over. The werewolf let out a loud howl that froze the Death Eaters.

Remus looked fearfully where the moon was, and saw only a half moon. "Impossible." The man whispered in amazment.

"What?" Harry asked.

"He can actually control when he changes, he's like an animangus, only he changes into a werewolf."

"I didn't think that was supposed to be possible." Tonks said, as she stared in awe at the creature that opened and shut his clawed hands a few times. The werewolf let out another howl, and lunged at the terrified Death Eater that was master of the hellhounds. The werewolf dropped on top of the man, and then ripped his throat out. The death of their master seemed to awaken the hellhounds, as five of them let out howls of rage and slammed into the werewolf, knocking the bigger creature down to the ground and the animal fight was on.

Remus and Tonks turned to the Death Eaters that they had to deal with. Remus smiled in a feral way and let what of his wolf that he could take over. It wasn't much, but it was enough to allow him to move hairbreadths faster than most people did, and it might be enough to keep him and the others alive.

* * *

Dean ducked a fireball of some sort, and fired at the warlock who disappeared and reappeared five feet to the left. _'Damn it, why couldn't the guy just stand and fight instead of porting all around the street?'_ Dean turned and fired at the creature again this time making it stagger. _'Gotchya.'_

"Rock salt?" The warlock asked as it glanced down at where it had been hit. "I've been blinking away from rock salt attacks all this time?"

"Well, it's not my fault that you kept getting out of the way before they hit you." Dean pointed out with a cocky smirk. "I also wanted to see if rock salt would hurt you in anyway."

"Think its funny that I wasted valuable power in dodging you mortal?"

"Well now that you mention it. Yeah." Dean tossed his shotgun at the Warlock, then pulled out his handgun and fired into the thing. The Warlock batted the shotgun away and reared back with a fireball. Dean couldn't help but smirk, at the shocked expression of the Warlock as it actually felt the bullets. "Those bullets were made with your kind in mind pal." Dean said, as he examined the shoulder wound that the warlock now had.

"I'm not done yet mortal." The Warlock said, before it spun around and began running toward its two friends that Sam had been holding off with the flamethrower.

"Yeah you are." Dean said as he shot again catching the demon right between the shoulders. A preacher had blessed the bullets and he had a couple of crosses engraved on the bullets and a few of them had magic writings on them as well. He doubted that the bullets would kill a pure demon, hell he didn't think a gun had been made that could do that just yet fortunately he wasn't dealing with a pure demon but a Warlock instead. And Warlocks were only slightly more powerful than a basic magic user. The Warlock staggered to the ground, but somehow managed to get back up. Dean was about to finish the thing off, when one of the other creatures disappeared from fighting with Sam and reappeared next to him and sucker punched him in the side of the head. The Warlock grabbed the older brother and tossed him into a bush.

"You're dead mortal." The Warlock said, sneering as he took several steps closer.

"Not yet I'm not ugly." Dean returned, as he brought his feet up and kicked at the demon. His feet missed the knee, but they hit the Warlock in the ankle, he smiled as he heard the bone snap. He hadn't thought that he would get that good of a shot in. He crawled back up, and looked at the Warlock who was gritting its teeth while it stood up. "You might want to sit down before you mess that up." Dean mocked, as his eyes roamed around for his weapon. He was also looking for any more bad guys, he wouldn't be surprised if the lord of the ring rejects came back for another pass to make them weak. If Xavier hadn't frozen everybody when he had he was pretty sure that he would be in a lot worse situation than he was right now.

"How can a human like you manage to cause so much damage to our kind?" The warlock asked, as a ball of energy appeared in its hand.

"What can I say, it's a gift that I've got. I'm just a real pain in the ass when it comes to Demons, Warlocks, spirits and just about anything else that I run into that's magical." Dean said smugly as he backed up from the monster, and taking a few steps to the side they began circling each other. Dean almost cursed when he heard another energy ball powering up. He looked behind him to see the Warlock that he shot up earlier climbing to it feet an energy ball in one of its hands. "Hey man, I shot you, your supposed to stay down." The Hunter complained.

"You didn't kill me though, even with those special made bullets of yours hunter."

"Well I guess I'll just have to try something else then." Dean said as realized that he had been boxed in between the two monsters.

"Die now hunter." One of the creatures growled, as they both threw their energy balls at the demon hunter.

Dean jumped off to the side, and watched as the balls missed him and instead struck the warlocks. "Hell yeah!" Dean said smirking at the ash piles. "That'll teach ya to underestimate Dean Winchester. He said, as he climbed to is feet. He looked down at his hands, and saw that throwing himself to the side had rubbed his hands raw and that he would be a little slowed down in the next part of the fight. He turned and saw that Sammy was still trading shots with his Warlock. Sammy was keeping the son of a bitch back with his flamethrower, of course that tank was also making Sammy move a lot slower and allowing the Warlock to come a lot closer than Dean was comfortable with. He pulled his knife out and flung it and watched as the blade dug into the monsters throwing arm. The Warlock turned to look at Dean, and was engulfed in a stream of fire. The thing screamed for a moment or two and then blew up. "Took you long enough to take care of that thing." Dean teasingly admonished his brother. "I mean I was able to take down two of them while you were stuck with just that one."

"And you look so great after dealing with them." Sam shot at his brother, as he wiped a trickle of blood off of his face.

"Hey I'm still better looking than you pal. Course you don't give me a whole lot to work against either string bean."

"Listen you vertically challenged blond."

"You boys did good." Joe said, interrupting the banter, as he looked them over for a moment or two.

"Thanks old man, but what about them?" Dean asked, as he pointed at Conner and Ritchie fighting with the other Immortals. Duncan was using his usual fine style to hold off the Immortal that he was facing, while Ritchie used the surrounding area to assist him in his fight since he was obviously overmatched when it came to sword skill. Though the boy was getting better with the experience that hanging around the Highlanders gave him.

"There is no interfering allowed boys, once the fight gets going the rules say that there's nothing more that I can do until after the fight is over. With the stroke of a sword those fights can go either way, the only question is which way."

Dean and Sam nodded in reluctant acceptance, they understood that things had to be balanced from time to time, that didn't mean that they had to like it though, besides the fighters were all moving too fast for them to be sure that a bullet would get close enough to hit who they wanted and a bullet hitting the wrong person could be a bad thing right now. The three of them turned and looked at the wizards that were hopping around shooting dangerous brightly colored beams of light at each other, as soon as they caught their second wind they would help with that group. The brothers turned and saw that Buffy Summers was leading a group of three people in army clothes and three in dark clothes carrying swords.

One of the Dark clothed men and the Slayer stopped for a moment, they looked over at the werewolf that was being swarmed by hellhounds farther down the street. "Oz!" They shouted, and then ran down that way the soldiers readied themselves to back them up.

Rachel tiredly fell to the ground, she ad already taken one quickening this night and then began running and fighting she needed a break.

Joe Dawson looked at her with concern before he nodded in understanding. "How bad was it?" The man asked with concern in his voice.

"I won didn't I?" The woman asked with a superior smirk on her face. "He just had a really powerful quickening, and then I got into a standoff fight with cult worshipers then a running battle with zombies. Thank god for C4 though."

"Sounds like you've been having fun then." The bartender said, as he watched Duncan duck beneath a deadly slash, and put a shallow cut on his opponents arm.

"Oh you know it handsome. "

"So, do we help any of them?" Dean asked as leaned against a doorframe.

"Who? The wizards are doing stuff that is hard to track, unless you want to jump in and fight a bunch of hell hounds that is." Sam asked his brother.

"Shit! How about you help me deal with those guys instead." Dean said pointing, as the Dementors came back for another pass at them. The brothers picked up their shotguns since the flamethrower was running low on fuel, and had been a pain to keep lit around the demons anyways. The brothers both cocked their sawed off shotguns and fired at the black cloaked figures that were making their way toward them. The brothers watched, as the creatures were holding back not coming any closer to them.

* * *

Harry was tiring as he fired a _reducto_ at the feet of a Death Eater then duck a _crucio_. He raised his shield as a yellow curse flew at him, the force of the curse nearly knocked him on his back, but his shield held. Harry took a deep breath then cast a stunner that was blocked. Harry cursed to himself. The Death Eaters were all older and more experienced than Harry and his friends, and while he had spent the last year riding his broom, arguing with his friends and snogging Ginny the Death Eaters had been training themselves up.

Remus skipped to the side as a silver colored curse flew past him and he returned with a blue spell of his own. The werewolf was faring better against two Death Eaters than the trio was faring against one opponent each. Tonks was also dueling fiercely with another death eater. Harry wasn't sure, but he thought they were trading the same kind of insults as he and Malfoy usually did. He shook his hair out of his face and readied himself to dodge another spell. He slipped out of the way and sent a bombarding charm at the Death Eater. The Death Eater dodged out of the way and slid behind a hedge. Harry spun and sent a stunner toward the Death Eater Hermione was fighting with. The Death Eater was busy being on the defensive as much as the offense since Hermione had a better knowledge of spells. The Death Eater still was caught off guard by the spell and went down.

So this is the infamous Weasel eh? The Death Eater asked using the hated family nickname that most of the Slytherians used at one point or another when talking to him.

Ron gritted his teeth, he dodged one spell then surprised them all by trying a different method jumping on top of the Death Eater and began to beat the Death Eater with his fists. He started with a blow to the gut then a overhand blow to the back of the Death Eater's head he ten began kicking the bewildered Death Eater in the arms and the stomach and a few in the face causing cracks in the white mask. Don't. Call. Me. Weasel." The teen said making his point by kicking the Death Eater after every word.

"Easy there Ron." Hermione said, as she came to stand beside the angry redhead. He's not worth it.

"Besides, you've knocked the prat out." Harry added with a grin.

Ron returned the grin and basked in the glory of having his friends there with him. "So now what mate?"

"Well we could always help professor, er Remus and Tonks out." The raven-haired boy said with a grin.

"Oh yes!" Hermione said in surprise and embarrassment, as she brought her wand back up and sent a few curses followed by her avis charm at one of the Death Eaters. The two boys teamed up against one of the others stunning him and putting him in a body bind while Hermione's Death Eater began to spin uncontrollably as he was trapped in a vortex jinx.

"Good job cubs." Remus said, as he took out the last Death Eater by using his cloak to tie him up and float in the air. Tonks also finished up her fight by summoning some chains that wrapped around the Death Eater.

Harry nodded, and turned to look at the Dementors that were hanging about ten feet away from the Winchester brothers. "Lets go." He said tiredly. "Expecto Patronun!"

* * *

"Hang on Oz." Buffy called, as she decapitated one hellhound. Angel skewered one and flung another into a tree. The two champions fought to the side of their friend.

"Looking good Oz." Angel complimented the werewolf, as they now stood back to back in a defensive triangle. The werewolf grunted an answer at the vampire, but kept his eyes on the creatures that surrounded them.

The hellhounds circled the trio warily, these beings had already destroyed a dozen of their numbers and had also destroyed their master. The scent of blood covered them, all the blood of their master and the blood of others. They began attacking, the three heroes all jumped high in the air with their enhanced muscles and leaped over the monsters and spun and slashed behind them slicing the backs of several of the beasts.

"So how long do you think we can do this?" Buffy asked, as she ducked one hellhound that had leapt at her face, another darted in and slashed her back. The blonde bit her lip to hold the scream in as she spun around and used the Mr. Pointy part of her scythe.

"It would be rather embarrassing to get taken down by a bunch of hellhounds after everything that we've taken out." Angel said, as he skipped out of the way of some snapping jaws. Angel kicked the hellhound in the jaw, and watched as it flew several feet into the air before it landed on the ground. As the creature struggled to its feet the soldiers unloaded several bullets into the creature bringing it down. Angel turned and watched as Oz tore through three of the creatures. He looked off and saw that more of the hellhounds were coming without their master they were coming to the call of battle that their pack was growling out.

"Tell me, how does a guy manage to raise nearly fifty hellhounds?" The slayer asked, as she twirled like a dancer as she sliced and diced her way through the hellhounds.

"Lack of a love life?" Angel asked.

"And like you have one?" Buffy shot back, but there was a hint of curiosity and jealousy in her voice.

"Not really, but then again I make it my business to kill the hellhounds and evil stuff of the world. How's your love life been anyways?"

"Confusing." The Slayer admitted, as she broke the neck of one hellhound. She turned and saw the soldier boys were hurting the second wave of hellhounds. The Winchester brothers and the wizards were dealing with characters that looked like they walked out of a corny horror movie. A few more shots and soon the hellhounds were amongst them and they were back to hacking and slashing the hellhounds. Buffy looked over at Oz, he was slowing down, and had a number of claw and bite marks where he had been struck. The two champions tore through the group, and forced the hellhounds back away from the werewolf who stood behind the two champions growling. The soldiers finished the hounds off with one last strong burst. As the last of the hounds fell Buffy and Oz/werewolf fell to the ground.

"Buffy!" Angel called, as he caught the Slayer. She was extremely weak after the beatings that she had taken, and needed time to heal, she also needed to see someone about her sliced open back. The ensouled vampire thought, as he looked with worry at Oz who was slowly shifting back into his human form.

"What, you haven't figured out how to dye your fur yet?" Angel joked.

"Working on it." Oz returned to the vampire that was holding the Slayer.

"C'mon lets see if we can do anything to help them." Angel said, Oz nodded and picked up the Scythe where Buffy had dropped it. He sniffed at the blade for a moment before he jerked his head back. "Silver?" The vampire asked with interest.

"Silver dust."

"Great, just be careful with it, there's no telling what else that thing has in it." Angel said as he cradled the wounded Slayer in his arms protectively. The two of them watched as the Winchester brothers began to take slow steps back away from the creatures, and joined the five wand users.

"Any ideas? We can't exactly do a whole lot to these guys." Dean shouted. "And sooner or later they're going to tire," he nodded at the wand users, "and we're going to run out of ammo." He emphasized this by slamming more rock salt into his sawed off shotgun.

"Maybe a binding circle will work on them." Sam suggested as he gut shot one.

"Do you think we really have the time to do something as drawn out as that?" Dean snarked.

"Do you have a better idea? Cause I'd love to here them."

"Show me what you need." Remus said.

Nodding Sam handed the older wizard his father's journal with a picture of the binding circle along with some chalk. The wizard waved his wand and muttered and the chalk broke into four parts, and then the bits of chalk began scribbling out the required design.

"Man where have you been hiding all these years? Dad would so love to be able to pull something like that off. You know Sam, now you really have to learn how to control that whole telekinetic thing of yours. Instead of just knocking stuff out of the way when you get worried you could do something useful like that."

"I'll think about it." Sam said, as the large circle finished being drawn and the pieces of chalk were then reassembled into one big piece of chalk.

"Okay its done."

"Good, now when I tell you to run I want you to run we have to move fast or they might notice the binding circle."

"Unless they were forced into it." Angel said, as he eyed the circle uneasily, as he had no idea how that circle would react to him or Buffy. Since he was holding her he had gotten a deeper taste of her scent, and it was different not quite human, and he really didn't want to chance her being stuck inside with those things that had a deep sense of evil to them. He also wasn't sure if he would be able to cross the binding circle once he was inside it. Angelus was a powerful vampire demon, and might trigger the spell, and if it could be triggered by Angelus, it would more than likely be triggered by the demon or whatever it was that gave Buffy her powers.

"And how do you suggest we get past them?"

"Hold onto us and let us do the work. Hermione take Ron, Tonks take the brothers I've got Harry. We'll send someone back for you in just a moment." The others watched as Harry grabbed onto Angel and Oz and suddenly apparated them to the other side of the Dementors.

"Did he just side along three other people?" Tonks asked in shock, as she looked at the group on the other side of the Dementors in awe. The teen cast his patronus again and sent his stag flying after the Dementors.

Ron and Hermione chuckled in grim amusement as they followed after their friend, and joined him in casting their patronus's. "So are we going or not?" Dean asked.

"Right." Remus mumbled, as he grabbed onto Dean's bicep and disappeared with a crack. Tonks followed while holding onto Sam. The group then began to send multiple shots at the Dementors who began backing away as the multiple patroni and the rock salt began slamming into them. The creatures fled a few feet away and waited and watched as the magic users and hunters paused. The Dementors gathered their strength and charged at the group, but were forced back 20 feet away from the group who all stood there waiting.

"Great thinking guys." Dean said, clapping Sam and Remus on the back as the Dementors struggled against the Binding Circle. He looked over the shoulder of one of the Dementors and watched as the Ritchie kid finally managed to take the other immortal's head, and they all watched as a second lighting storm began to brew. Dean and Harry smiled even bigger as they watched on of the Dementors catch on fire from some stray lighting bolts.

"Can we get to a medical base now?" Angel asked, holding the Slayer in his arms up impatiently. "We need to get these claw marks taken care of soon."

"Right, we have a medical base that we can use, and hopefully Poppy will go there instead of trying to go back to this house." Remus said, as he saw the Dementors were dangerously close to one of the doorways.

"Come on lets go wolfie," Tonks said, "besides we all know you have a lot of questions for Oz."

"Right, lets go." Dean said as he motioned toward his Impala. Angel nodded and laid her in the back with her head resting in his lap. Dean and Sam followed after in their own seats while Remus made a portkey to the medical bay for the rest of them.

* * *

This chapter took forever it seems don't forget to review I need to know people appreciate it, and stroke my ego. I also need some new torture suggestions I' running low on those right now. 


	27. Chapter 27

The writer wanders the halls carefully wondering what horror that he will be faced with this time as he tried to slip past the disclaimer cops. "Hold it right there you!" Minister of Magic Scrimgeour said as he and a group of Ministry lackeys blocked the fanfic writer. "Just where do you think that you are going?"

"Well ah you see." The writer says as he takes a few hesitant steps back.

"His guilty demeanor suggests Death Eater Minister." Percy (Wheatherbee) Weasley said in a knowing tone while looking down his nose over his horn rimmed glasses.

"Minister we do not have time for such a inconvenient thing as a trial I suggest we deal with him in a fast a way as possible if he will not confess." Umbridge simpered at her superior.

"Good point, call in the last of the Dementors."

"Whoa, slow down there hoss, I'll tell ya everything!" The writer says as a door off to the side creaks open and a hooded figure glides through. I the writer lay no claim whatsoever to any of the characters in this story or any of the ones in these disclaimers either.

Well?

"Uhh, you see Minister, he actually just told the truth." Percy Weasley explained uncomfortably.

"I am aware of that, now silence him."

"Yes of course Minister." Umbridge said with a predatory grin, and beckoned the Dementor towards the writer.

"A little help here someone!"

"All right geeze, don't loose your shirt." Tonks said, as she and Hermione both cast a patronus sending a silvery Otter and Werewolf at the Dementor.

"Do be sure to tell Stan high from Harry now." Tonks said as they apparated out.

"What? Hey don't leave me here!"

* * *

"Oh you have got to be shitting me." Dean said, as he looked at the number of monsters that were trying to break through the defenses of their home base. "How in the hell are supposed to get through all of that?"

"Um, maybe the backdoor." Sam suggested to his brother. "The army of the dead here seems to be focused more on the front, we might be able to slip past them if we tried to slip in instead of blowing our way through them."

"I don't know Sam that could be a trap just waiting to happen to us." Dean argued back. "I'd rather blow my way through the guys I can see, than sneak around the ones that I can't."

"The back way in." Angel growled at the two siblings. "If you others feel like you need to cause a distraction fine, but I need to get Buffy in for medical help.

"I agree with the vampire." Duncan said as he leaned out of the window of his own car. "We need to deal with this fast though, the girl is bleeding quite a bit from those marks." Angel, Oz and Remus all nodded in agreement as the blood was flooding their senses the most. Buffy didn't require a whole lot of medical treatment usually, but that one hellhound's claws had dug deeply into her back ripping the equipment vest and the back of the leather X-Man uniform apart.

"Your magic werewolf, how close can your teleportation trick get me?"

"About another hundred feet, and then you'll have to fight your way through whatever it is that is going to get in your way and pass through that wall of flame."

"Fine, you and the witch get ready to take two of us across." Angel looked at the group of people who would be best in getting them across that line. "Oz, your out even with wolf powers under control your obvious still weak, you might get through on your own, but not if your guarding someone." The werewolf nodded. "As for you kids, I don't know your abilities enough to count on you to watch my back, so you'll have to join the others." He turned to look at the four immortals, the watcher and the demon hunting brothers. "You two work better together stay that way." He said nodding toward the Winchesters, leaving him with just the Immortals to choose from.

"Hey, you want the best then you want one of them to get you through." Ritchie said gesturing to the older two Immortals. "No offense to you or anything of course Rachel." The boy said, flashing a grin. "These guys just wrote the book on getting through messy situations. Joe and I will stay back here and um wait for you to tell us when we can go in or find a good hiding place."

"Go with them Highlander, I think its time that I showed these corpses why they should have stayed in the ground." Methos said, as he drew his sword. "What about yourself my dear?" He asked turning to Rachel.

"Oh, I intend to fully enjoy myself by cutting into these things darling." The woman said as she pulled out her own sword.

"Good lets go."

Angel nodded in relief as the gray haired man left, something about him set him on edge for some reason, and even had his demon wary of him.

"Kids," Remus said pulling the trio to the side, "try and stay with the Winchester brothers they seem to have the most idea what it is they're talking about here."

"Yes sir." The three said, as they tightened their grips on their wands as they prepared for another battle.

"How long until we can get through those flames?" Angel asked, as the fire ring held against a dozen monsters that were instantly barbecued.

Remus pulled a bottle out of his cloak and handed it Angel. "Give her a mouthful of this, and then take a mouthful for yourself, same instructions for those of us going with you, it's the only way to ensure that the flames won't hurt us. It'll only last 5 minutes though, so we must hurry." He warned them all, the vampire nodded as he tilted the bottle into Buffy's mouth after everyone else had a mouthful.

"Lets go." The vampire said, Remus nodded as he grabbed the ensouled vampire, while Tonks grabbed on to Duncan the group then appareted about five feet from the edge of the circle of fire and began running toward the encircled building.

Remus stopped as six of the creatures broke off their circling motion and came at them. The werewolf waved his wand and muttered, _"animus flameus patronus,"_ and a small fiery looking wolf jumped out of the wand and clawed at the creatures causing the inferi to pull back into a protective circle. Remus turned and ran to join the others as another band was blocking them. Tonks sent an incindio at another that caught it in the eye. Duncan sliced through the arm of one of the creatures then did a spin kick that sent it flying into the pack of its brethren who turned on their fellow cursed one and consumed it. Angel took a breath and plunged through the flames, closing his eyes as he dove through, he looked up in surprise as he realized that he was through and that he an Buffy were both unharmed by the flames. He watched as the witch, then the werewolf and finally the Immortal landed next to him.

Angel nodded at the others, and turned around to find a gun pointed at his face, beyond the gun was a face that he remembered from one of his last trips to Sunneydale. "Riley." The vampire growled at the soldier. "What are you doing here?"

"Could ask you the same thing Angel." Riley returned to the dark haired vampire.

"We can discuss this after we get Buffy to the med wing." The vampire said, walking past the soldier boy who bristled in anger, but followed after the vampire, a few others came to assist Remus and Tonks. Duncan merely abandoned them, and went to find a station that he would be good at holding.

The vampire and soldier pushed open a door and laid the wounded Slayer out on her stomach on a med bed, and then stepped back as the medical team began looking the wounds over. One person raised Buffy's head and poured a potion down her throat while another person was cleaning and disinfecting the scratches.

"What happened to her?" One of the medics asked.

"Hellhounds." Angel answered, as he finally turned to a glaring Riley.

"Answer this, are you here as Angel or Angelus? Because quiet frankly we have enough dark beings here without the addition of another maniac who thinks it would be fun to end or takeover the world."

Angel smiled humorlessly at the blonde man. "No boy, its soul me, soulless me was a few days ago."

"What?" The man said, snapping his gun back up.

Angel rolled his eyes, before he moved faster than Riley could follow and stood beside the soldier boy and yanked the rifle from the man's hands and tossed it to one of the other soldiers in the room. "Listen to me very closely boy." The vampire hissed at the man. "Crap happens, and I've been dealing with a lot of it lately, besides Willow recently restored my soul again."

"Like we're going to trust that backstabber?" Riley answered.

"What do you mean?"

Riley smiled grimly at this, it would prove whose side the vampire was on, of course he might have to restrain the vampire if he really was on their side. Guess he would just have to take a chance and tell him. "Didn't Buffy tell you? The scoobies went and kicked Buffy out of her own home and put Faith in her place."

Angel scowled at this Buffy 's 'friends' had kicked her out that was not acceptable. "They had Faith take control?" He asked.

"That's right." Riley tensed, as he saw the vampire's eyes shift back and forth as the man tried to reign in his infamous deadly temper.

"She's not ready to be in control yet, are they trying to send her to the nut house?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't get me wrong Faith has come a long way from her insane days, but being in control is not what she needs right now. Besides her strategy has always been to hit as hard as you can or runaway as fast as you possibly can. She just doesn't have the right kind of experience to deal with what is to come nowhere near what Buffy has at least. Besides, she has to many personal demons, and lack of confidence to lead these girls right now. She may hide it pretty well, but she's not ready for that kind of pressure, one mistake and she may try and hide herself from them all over again."

Riley shook his head at this. "Not going to happen, Buffy already talked sense to her earlier, not sure what was said but it seemed to put a spark back in her step after her one command decision screw up."

Angel nodded in relief, he had not been looking forward to another fight with Faith to get her to see reason. "So what is the working relationship between the soldiers and the potentials?"

"We follow Buffy's orders, who is having trouble learning how to let her people do the work while she oversees it." Riley looked at Buffy who was still knocked out.

"Does it help that we were chased into that fight?" Angel asked, "besides, she's been the muscle and the plan for so long that she's having trouble now that she actually has some real resources." Riley nodded in grudging agreement. "All right, keep her comfortable Riley, I want see if there is a way to back through that fire."

"How did you get through that fire in the first place?"

"_Frozen Essence." _The MediWitch answered, "its an Advanced potion that looks like a common poison."

"That's comforting," Angel replied, "is it common to have some with you?"

"On combat missions like this it is, though usually only potion masters carry a number of potions."

"You got to be glad that we brought the Weasly brothers though eh Vampire?" Another person in robes said with a grin. "Imagine using an Egyptian fire prison to keep those inferi off." The man shook his head in amazement as he walked into the room. "Now what were you doing in town anyways? I thought all the vampires had run away to their various hideouts till this mess with the First is over."

"I'm not quiet like other vampires, and Spike you can come out from behind the corner."

The blond strode from around the doorway and leaned casually against the wall. "Hullo Peaches. Welcome back to good old Sunneyhell. The blond vampire's eyes drifted to where Buffy was lying on the med bed before he turned back to his grandsire. "Not back in town a full day and Buffy is already back on a hospital bed, ever think that this could be a sign?" The vampire shook his head in mock amazement.

"You and I can argue later Spike I have bigger fish to fry." Angel growled at his grand-childe.

"Really, like who?" The blonde asked with interest.

"Like the First, and then I have to deal with Xander, Willow and Giles." The dark-haired vampire answered. "They hurt Buffy for the last time."

"I wish that was true mate, but unfortunately she's not only forgiven the useless sods, but she is even allowing them to help out in this fight. And you know as well as I do that if you do anything to them that they'll go and tattle to her. Not that we really need the blighters help with all the back up we got here now."

"Now that you mention it who are all these people?" Angel asked turning to Riley. "Some of them I recognize, like some of the Immortals, but who are all the others?"

Riley grinned at this. "Why these are Buffy's family Angel, her great uncle is one of the senior officers in the military group here, we have wand waving witches and wizards Hermione Granger is a cousin of Buffy's, the Charmed Ones are also cousin's mutants like Cyclops and Havoc, Buffy's family uncle is here as well, perhaps you've heard of him? The name Conner McLeod mean anything to you? We also have the Winchesters, and a few farmer families with us as well from Hazzard and Smallville."

Angel gaped for a moment. "Buffy has familial connections to the Highlander, The Charmed Ones, and the Winchesters? Is this John Winchester or his kids?"

"It's the junior Brigade Peaches, but they seem to know their stuff well enough." Spike said indifferently.

"And Hermione Granger?" Angel asked, as he rounded on Spike. "I suppose you forgot that she's connected to a well known British wizard as well? There's supposed to be three of them, took on a Dark Wizard Lord all on their own once, and they were only eleven year olds or something like that."

"Yeah, they're all here, adults don't seem to think to much of em though since they were left on guard duty at your place."

"Wait a minute, those three kids were the Hogwarts trio?" Angel said turning on Remus.

"Yes, the Hogwarts trio as you said are them, and I left them." Remus growled at the vampire as he looked at Buffy. "They want nothing more than to be children, yet the moment they tried to do that they lost probably the most important person that they could have."

"So its true then, Albus Dumbledore is really dead?" Angel said in shock. "I thought those were supposed to be rumors or something of the like."

"Bloody hell, I didn't think anyone could take that wand waver out. So old Al is gone and not coming back?" Spike asked in surprise, he hadn't heard any of the magical world gossip recently since he had been a bit busy fighting on the hellmouth

"Yes, I know how you feel, but I'm afraid that Headmaster Dumbledore is truly dead." Remus shoulders sagged at this statement. "You knew him? I didn't know that Albus knew any ensouled vampires and something like that would have made for interesting dinner conversation to him."

Angel and Spike nodded in understanding. "You misunderstand us we knew each other mainly by reputation, though I did have one fight with him. Spike here had only recently been turned; Dumbledore must have been oh nearly sixty at the time."

"Yeah, we actually stumbled upon the wizard world quiet by accident. Can't say it wasn't entertaining though."

"It was interesting." Angel admitted, "we had fed off a wizard who thought that he could make some easy money by collecting vampire dust and blood for some rare potions, and rather than ask for the blood he decided he would just take it."

"Yeah, the bloody wanker actually had the gall to attack us in our own crib, and on his lonesome as well. Can you believe the nerve of that? Trying to take on the Scourge of Europe by yourself? The guy made a good snack though, and while we were digesting the blood and all, we were able to see everything that was hidden before."

"Yes, we spent about eight months in your community before the wizards finally realized what was going on and their Ministry tried to drive us out."

"Tried?" Remus asked in surprise.

"Yep blighters didn't realize how strong we were, and Dru made it nearly impossible to sneak up on us, and we all knew enough Wicca magic to make the wizarding lot regret coming at us.""

A few minions that we had sired though were taken out like they were nothing though, by this one wizard, he an Angel had a bit of a scuffle over that as I recall. Angel got his side burned pretty badly, and Al got his nose crushed so badly not even magic could make it completely straight after that."

"You mean that's why Dumbledore had such a crooked nose?"

"Yes, and thanks to my vampire healing I didn't have the wounds I got for more than a few days." Angel bragged, "but we can worry about that later, we have a small group stuck outside cause we needed to get Buffy through as fast as possible, I also want to tear the scoobies apart."

"I think you'll have to get in line mate, sides you know the Slayer almost as well as I do, no lasting damage is gonna be allowed on them." Spike informed his grandsire; Angel bristled at the comment that Spike might actually know Buffy better than he did these days.

Spike smirked as his grandsire before he turned to the werewolf. "So, is there anyway to get out of here, or are we all going to need some of this frozen essence stuff?"

"I wish," Remus said, "but I doubt that the firewall is going to last much longer if those inferi keep attacking like they were earlier."

"I need to inform the colonel about that then." Riley said, as he pulled his radio out and began talking into it. Angel listened in as a sarcastic man answered him back. "Out sir." Riley said with a roll of his eyes. "I swear that sarcasm is a genetic trait for this family, along with a trait for finding trouble that is."

"And here I thought it was the majority of blue an green eyes that were the genetic trait here soldier boy." Spike said, as he pulled a cigarette out of his duster, and ignoring the pointed looks of the various medical personal lit up.

"We need a way to get the others back before they get hurt."

"Regroup." The Slayer muttered.

"What was that Slayer?" Spike asked, dousing the cigarette and leaned over with the other two to check on the wounded Slayer.

The three men turned to look at the young woman as she opened her bleary eyes at the group of her former lovers, who were all united in the fact that they wanted to win this fight then get her out of her town and probably away from her friends. To bad for them though this was her town and her problems with her friends were just that, her problems. "Regroup," she repeated, "regroup everyone back here, that means the potentials as well, those zombies are dangerous, we don't want them to try and overrun the Potentials or the groups that are out there."

"Hate to admit it, but she's making sense." Spike said scowling, as he glared at a random object since he couldn't be mad at the Slayer for doing some common sense. Movement of her people was required now that one of the big bad's had all of those corpses to use as a disposable army.

"Do it." Angel agreed nodding.

Riley bit back a remark as he reached for his radio. "The is Captain Finn, by order of Commander Summers all units are to return to the command center, this order includes Potentials as well. Watch your step people there are zombies out there; wizards prepare to start transferring people across the barrier we got."

* * *

"You heard them X-Men, we need to go." Scott said, as he blasted at an Inferi that was trying to walk over the other Inferi heads and attack them.

"Love to big brother, how about you tell us how we're going to do that though!" Havoc questioned, as he blasted through another group of the monsters.

Storm created a tornado that collected a bunch of the inferi and dropped them in a burning building. "Scott's right we have to go, but how are we leaving though?"

"Give me a second." Cyclops said, he turned and saw that Conner McLeod was spinning with a burning blade in either hand hacking and slashing like a Hawaiian torch dancer, he usually only hit a monster a glancing blow but each shot lit a part of a monster that was consumed with flames. Xander Harris, the soldiers and the potentials hacked away with their own flaming weapons, they were not making as many surgical blows as the Immortal Highlander, but still sending a number of the monsters to their fiery graves. Flitwick had charmed a few balls of blue fire to fly around the group creating a minor offensive defense that was allowing the various witches and wizards to move with slightly more confidence.

Flaming chains shot out of one wizard's wand, while another inexpertly tried to use a giant fire whip. Flitwick shook his head at this as he sent more small fires at the inferi. One of the soldiers had not dared to use a flaming blade, but had stuck with his automatic shotgun and the wizards were begrudgingly admitting that the muggle device was slowing the approaching army since the soldier was blasting the limbs off of the inferi tripping the monsters up or shooting them dead in the chest so that they were flung back into their companions.

"Any ideas yet?"

"Nightcrawler how long would it take you to get everyone to the roof?" Cyclops asked, as he sent a wide-angle beam out.

"I do not know Cyclops but I can try. The blue furred mutant said as he sliced the heads off a couple of monsters before back flipping out of the reach of three others. "But I would not be able to do much more than move you to the top of a building, and then we would have the same problem all over again."

"Perhaps we should have left with the trucks eh?" Conner asked, as he skewered one inferi, and caught three more on fire with the back swipe of his other blade.

"Hindsight is 20/20 ya'll." Luke said over the radio, as he scanned the rooftops for a way to stop the mass of undead from swarming his cousins and their friends.

"Everyone of you better grab a muggle or whatever it is they are." Flitwick commanded, as he sent the last of his fireball shield toward the inferi and then apparated away and reappeared beside the Duke boys. "Very well, hang on." The tiny professor said, as he grabbed them by their legs.

"Just set us down by the General Lee little fella and let us do our thing." Bo told the Charms teacher.

"Very well." Flitwick squeaked, he then apparated the three of them down to the bright orange stock car.

Grinning the two cousins slid into the car while the small man disappeared with a loud crack. "All right cousin; lets see if we can't distract these things a bit so that the rest of the family can get going." Bo said.

"Cousin I do believe that sounds like a plan." The General Lee sped down the alley and came around the corner. The stockcar slid around and the two brothers crawled halfway out of the car and retrieved their arrows and launched the last of their arrows into the zombies. A chunk of the creatures turned to them and Luke fired again as Bo slid back in and gunned the engine before he placed the General Lee in a slow reverse, while the creatures began slowly chasing after them. Luke finished off the last of the arrows and saw that they still had a number of dynamite sticks left. Shruggging the dark haired farmer grabbed at the crate placed the crate on the hood and lighted the sticks one at a time and began tossing them into the inferi, he did that till there was about ten sticks left and watched as the last of the defenders was finally gone leaving just the two cousins on the street. Luke worked on the sticks for a moment till he had tied the last ten sticks together, and tied a forty second fuse onto the sticks, as long as nothing smothered the flames they were going to have a real good bang soon, he placed the box down and slid back in.

"Go! Go! Go!" Luke yelled, the General Lee spun around and zoomed down the road, Bo turned the car down another lane, and continued down that way until a large explosion came from where they had just been.

"You think you might have added a little bit much there cousin?" Bo yelled as the ground shook.

"No, not really, you saw as well as I did how many of those things there were, and the wizards had gotten everyone else out of the way so I was free to do my thing." Luke defended as the General Lee swerved to miss chunks of buildings that were raining down on them.

"Cousin, sometimes I think the Marines made you a bit explosive happy." Bo said, as the General Lee burned rubber and headed back towards the main base.

* * *

Giles sighed in despair and relief as he heard the order for everyone to come in; it meant that for now any all petty grudges were being put to the side so that they could work together on figuring a way to stop the First. He turned to look at Mr. Logan, who was busy breaking and pushing arrows out of a couple of potentials who had been shot. "Everyone gather weapons, and anything you can carry in your hands, we are not going to be able to take much if any personal items."

"Yeah you'll have to go all Spartan." Faith hissed, as Dawn was wrapping her arm.

"Sorry," the girl said.

"Don't worry little D, it'll take more than that to keep me down for long." Faith said, flashing one of her cocky grins at the teenager.

"Yes Dawn, like all of you Faith happens to be extremely stubborn when it comes to admitting that she might actually be worse off than she really is." Giles said dryly as he watched the various girls grab their equipment.

"Its no big G, sides I'll heal eventually."

"Be as that may, you are not as fast a healer as Mr. Logan, and you are not invulnerable like Mr. Kent and now Miss. Rogue are." Giles said, glaring at the dark haired slayer.

"Whatever." The Slayer said as she began playing with her lighter.

Rogue shifted nervously, Mr. Giles was right she was still super strong somehow, and her skin was still just as tough as it had been when she first absorbed Kal-El. None of this made any kind of sense though, after a little bit of time she was supposed to lose the extra powers that she had not keep them after nearly an hour and a half after getting them, the powers and the memories to use them were all there. As if it wasn't bad enough not being able to touch someone, but now she had to deal with the fact that she also had to be careful when she tried to hug someone. Hell, she would have to be careful with just shaking someone's hand!

"Hey, its all right." Clark tried to assure her with a grin as he looked at the girl.

"Easy for you to say." Rogue snapped at the alien farm boy. "You don't happen to be an energy vampire with no control."

Clark's rose at this, she had no control, but that meant that she hadn't even had a choice whether or not she got Kal-El's powers. The minute they had skin-to-skin contact the energy drain had started, she had been willing to sacrifice her mind and body to weaken Kal enough so that Clark could get back up and hurt him. And what had she gotten in return? Powers that made her almost as dangerous as he was, she now two of his three most used powers with an extra if you counted the flying abilities.

"I'm sorry." Clark said, squeezing her on the shoulder using enough force so that she could actually feel it.

"Whatever." The girl said as she stormed off.

Clark wanted to go after her, but another figure walked right up to him and shook their head. "Not now wonder boy." Shadowcat said, crossing her arms as she watched her friend sit down next to Logan and cry into his shirt. "She has enough things right now without you trying to apologize for something that is almost not your fault."

"What do you mean almost?"

"Simple, if you had bothered to learn how to fight then maybe you could have had one up on him, but you like just being this manly man who has no idea what they're doing don't you? Think of this though, if you ever come up against someone who's your equal again or even superior in power, your going to be on the ropes unless you learn how to fight."

"But with my powers."

"Powers that you've just been shown were the equal to, and what happens when your powers are on the fritz or something like that?"

"Um well."

"Your dead that's what. Now enough on this, we need to figure the safest way to get from here back to base, and unless you want to become the super express we need to find another way to get all of us across."

"That is one nice thing about this being a small town." Clark said with relief.

"Yeah, so Mr. Giles, you have any ideas on how to get from here to there with about a million hungry zombies getting in between us?"

"I'm afraid I am currently without any possible ideas." Giles admitted, "Do you have any ideas."

"Yeah, don't bother trying to sneak out, the Hand may have pulled back, but they're still around, and are probably waiting to see what the next move over here is before they try anything else."

"So you believe that they'll attack while we're all out in the open then?"

"That's right," Logan said as he came over and joined the conversation. "Especially after what that slayer over there did to their Jonin. Before it was just a job, now it's a whole matter of honor to them to take you people out. Course, since we all helped we're on that list as well, which don't mean much since Kitty and I were already pretty high up on their list for a few other things we did to them."

"I see." Willow said dully, as she tried to process what was happening, it had been a while since someone had actually tried to attack the house like they had, if she wanted to be perfectly honest she never had seen such a large attack against them, sure the super vamp and Glory had both attacked them here, but really that was about it kind of made her realize that her world was changing since there had been a great big bad battle right outside. There was also the fact that Amy had once again returned, despite all of the warnings that she had been given, she just kept on coming back for more and more no matter what she did to try and appease her. It may actually come down to the fact that she and Amy would actually have to do the whole mega witch fight, which so did not come up on her list of top ten things to do right now.

"So how do we get out of here then?" Andrew asked as he looked out the window fearfully.

"We're gonna have ta fight our way out bub, that's the only way I can see us getting through this mess."

"And how do we fight a few hundred ninja?" Giles asked, he gestured at the various people in the room. "In case you hadn't noticed not all of us can stand up to a dozen ninja at once."

"I know, we need a distraction, which is where Rogue comes in. Ya think ya can distract em long enough darlin, while the farm boy here is working on getting everyone to the base?"

"I can try," The mutant replied, "besides even they'll notice when the houses their hiding in begin to fall on top of them."

"We'll do our best then. Kent I want you to make sure you can find a clear path to the base, or at the very least a good spot to hide out."

"Right," the Kryptonian said, as he got ready to slip out the back door and begin running, trying to find the best route for them to take. Unfortunately he wasn't at his best right now after running all over the world because of Kal-El he was drained and needed time to get back to 100 if he was going to continue like this.

"Do you think I have the strength to do this?" Clark asked worriedly, "I've never run with someone before, what if I tear them apart by going to fast?"

"E.T has a point there," Faith said as she held onto her arm while Dawn tied the bandages off. "You all saw how he wasn't there then he was there, you really think any of us can survive at that speed? Shit." She growled out as disinfectant was poured into her wound.

"Sorry." Dawn repeated, as she used the sleeve of one of her sweatshirts to finish the wrapping on Faith's arm.

"No big, I'll be good in a little bit."

"Uh huh." Robin said disbelievingly from where he was treating wounded.

"So how do we get them all out of here then? Clark asked, "if we can't be sure that I can do it."

"You get help." Minerva McGonagall said, as she stepped out of the shadows.

"That's close enough until we can be sure your real." Kennedy said, as she aimed her crossbow at the Hogwarts Headmistress. The witch stopped, but pursed her lips in annoyance at the weapon that was pointed at her.

"Easy there, she's real." Clark said, as he got between the lead potential and Headmistress.

"How can you be sure?"

"X-ray vision." Clark explained to her, as he took the weapon out of her hands. "If she wasn't real then we'd have to deal with the fact that she was the First, but she isn't."

"Is there anything you can't do?" One of the other potentials asked curiously.

"I don't think I can breath underwater, but I can hold my breath for a long time."

"Excuse me." McGonagall said as she looked at the group.

"Yes?"

"Mr. Giles, good someone some what responsible. I am going to have you all port-keyed to the headquarters."

"All of us or just certain people?" Giles asked curiously.

"All of you, however you will have to be far enough away from the wards that someone managed to put in place since we last used a port-key here."

"Will this one have us landing with a gun pointed at us as well?"

"No," the Headmistress admitted, while frowning in confusion over what a gun was. "In fact you will have to portkey in about a hundred feet away from the base.

"And why is that?"

"Because, the man who made the wards we are using is currently near unconscious from making a defense that would destroy any of the inferi that dared to come in contact with the wards, unfortunately the ward is extremely draining to maintain and will fall shortly."

"And inferi are what exactly?"

"I believe muggles refer to them as zombies."

"Zombies, who activated zombies?"

"You-Know-Who did, a powerful dark wizard," she explained to the confused looks that they all had, "and as near as we can tell he has activated every single dead body in all of the graveyards."

"Whoa, hold it rewind there for a moment." Robin said, as he looked the witch in the eyes despite the haunted look he had. "Are you sure its only in the graveyards, or is it everywhere in town?"

"Why does that matter?"

"Oh no reason," Dawn said as she grabbed a short sword, "we just happen to have a half a dozen girls buried out in the backyard, we just want to know if we need to worry about them trying to kill us or if they'll stay dead."

"That is a good question, and I have no way to be sure," the witch, admitted, "the information we have is not the best and we can't be sure of anything really at this moment."

"Dawn, Anya, Robin I think we are alright here for the moment." Giles said confidently, as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

"And how can you be sure of that Mr. Giles?" One of the girls asked, as she stared out the window fearfully, as if expecting to see the previously mentioned girls coming out of the ground to kill them all.

"Because if they had risen, and were going to attack us they would already have done so, and we would not just now be hearing about the possibility of it now." The former watcher admonished them all, but the Scoobies all noticed that Giles didn't look perfectly certain as he assured the potentials. "Now then, instead of worrying about a possible attack and enemies, can we please focus on the ones that we actually know exist for the moment?" Giles calmly picked up a book from the bookshelf, though his hands were twitching to clean his glasses and drink a pot of tea right about now.

"I couldn't agree more." McGonagall said, as she stared at the group of scared girls and a handful of others. "Now then, we will want to leave in a neat and orderly fashion."

"What is this a fire drill?" Wolverine asked, while rolling his eyes at the way the witch was going about it. "You kids listen, Rogue, Kent, Kitty and I will guard the way out, the rest of you have to get on out of here."

"I'm staying to." Faith said, as she stood up, her face was pale but she stood under her own power even if there was the occasional tremor.

"No can do kiddo your arm is going to be all night healing at the rate it looks now." Logan said, nodding to the bloody bandaged shoulder.

"Buffy told me to protect them though."

"Then get them out of here, we'll follow after you once your gone. Kitty assured the dark haired slayer.

"Can you escape after we're gone?" Willow asked dubiously of the teenage girl before her. "I mean, I know you were all kicking ninja butt earlier and all, but can you do it again and make it to the base? I mean there are a lot of them and all."

"Long as Rogue's new powers hold out we can fly there." Wolverine said without concern, confident in Rogue and her abilities both old and new ones.

"Your crazy."

"Thank ya darlin." Wolverine said, as he walked toward the door to see if the others were ready.

* * *

Clark, Rogue Shadowcat, Rogue and Wolverine stood at the ready while the potentials gathered up the last of their wounded and weapons. "Go," McGonagall said, as she shifted back into her tabby cat form and ran out the door, the others followed after the cat as best they could. The potentials were ignored, but a few throwing blades bounced around Faith's feet as she juked and jived going slower than all the others, hoping that she could buy the others the time that they needed to get clear.

Faith lets go! Robin shouted gesturing her onward but she ignored the man as she bounced off the white picket fence that Mrs. Summers had loved. Faith looked over her shoulder and up at Buffy's window, a window that the blonde slayer had slipped out of numerous times as a teenager shattered, and Rogue came flying out while Kent and Wolverine came flying out the front door and she presumed that Ghost girl had slipped out the back door. Faith caught another arrow, and then began to run after the others hoping that these people could give them the chance that they needed to get away and regroup with Buffy and the others. She ran up to the others who were crouched next to an old tire at the end of the block. The cat-woman nodded at Faith as the slayer touched the tire, the woman was already making with her mojo, and then they disappeared with a loud popping sound.

* * *

Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ritchie, Rachel the Winchesters, Oz, Daniel and the two remaining soldiers stole their way around the building, as they looked for another way in or a place that they could wait for the others to come up with a rescue plan. Dean checked the rounds he had left for his shotgun and frowned, they were running low on ammo, if they didn't restock soon they would be out, he and Sam had divided the last of what they did have, and had even grabbed their machetes and some throwing blades before hiding the black cars that they had come in.

"So, any ideas on what our next move should be?" Ron asked the adults around them, his red hair stood out even with all the flames around them.

"Not off the top of my head kid." One of the soldiers grumbled.

"We need to fall back until we can get far enough away from these guys Dean." Sam said, as he looked at the army that was uselessly throwing themselves against the fire shield.

"Indeed you should." Teal'c said, as he stepped out of the shadows, "fortunately we have taken over one of their bases and can operate from there with little worry."

Dean, Ritchie and Harry all threw small rocks at the man, and sighed with relief when they bounced off the big Jaffa's chest.

The warrior raised his eyebrow slightly causing Hermione to blush at what her friend had just done. "Harry, what do you think your doing?" She hissed at her friend in mortification. "He just offered to help us, and you throw a rock at him?"

Harry shrugged and looked a bit embarrassed before muttering. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

"It was kiddo." Dean assured him, as he pushed the group after the Jaffa. "We had to make sure that he was really real, it just happened that three of us thought of it at the same time."

"Indeed, it was a wise precaution to take before blindly following after me." Teal'c said to them over his shoulder. "Had I been the First I may have lead you directly into a trap and you would have all been dead."

"Why didn't you then?" Hermione asked the quiet werewolf that walked beside them.

"Smelled him." The werewolf said simply, as he followed the others.

"Why the bloody hell didn't you tell anyone then?"

"No one asked." Hermione's mouth dropped open, and she froze for a moment before she pushed from behind to keep moving.

The group followed silently after Teal'c to the building across the street from the flaming building. "In here." The Jaffa said, as he lead them through the doorway and into another room filled with various types of computer setups.

"What is all this stuff? Sam asked as he eyed the setups.

"This is a weapons array control center, in here we can control the weapons that are mounted in various places on this building."

"There's a catch ain't there?"

"Indeed Dean Winchester. The weapons must first each be powered up and repaired since many of them were damaged when we took control of the base. The main problem we are currently having is that the technology here is a combination of Tauri and Goul'd. Daniel Osborne, Samuel Winchester, I believe that you shall both be of some use to me if your computer skills are on par with the task before us, Daniel Jackson will translate the Goul'd for you." The three men nodded and headed toward a couple of empty computer terminals. "As for the rest of you, you must set up a defensive ring of our own that will protect us, or we shall be overrun as we did to this place earlier. We were fortunate that we only lost two warriors during that particular attack, but I fear that before this day is through they shall both be surely missed along with many others."

"Who did you loose?"

"Harry Potter, I am afraid we lost Master Bra'Tac and your First battle leader, Auror Mad-Eye-Moody."

"They got Moody?" A stunned Ron said in shock as he stared disbelievingly at the big man. "No, we can't have lost him as well." The red head said shaking his head in disbelief.

"Not now Ron." Harry snapped at his friend before he turned back to Teal'c. "What do we do?"

"Secure the area for now." Teal'c said, as he turned back to the computers with the other Jaffa and two computer whizzes.

"All right, you three go with the soldier boys, I'll go with the pretty lady here, while the old man and sword boy take another route and we'll start a patrol around the place sound good? Dean asked the group, as he sidled up beside Rachel. The others nodded and each took a separate route.

Moody and Bra'tac limped down the street they had avoided the various monsters that had been walking down the street in the same direction as they were going. "I do not like the fact that there are so many of these beings here." The former first prime said, as he watched as a few hundred of the creatures staggered down the steps.

"You and me both, this entire mess is going to be hard to gain control of, especially now that Voldemort has caused all of these inferi to rise."

"We shall just have to hope that we can join with our comrades in arms then before it is to late."

"That we do, that we do." The two men continued making their way towards the base that they had left.

* * *

The group of potentials landed in a disorganized heap in an alley. Faith's mouth dropped open as she saw the whole ring of fire thing that was going on around the place that was being used as home base, and the thousands of monsters that were attempting to break through the wall of flames. "I heard of out of the frying pan and into the fire yo, but this is ridiculous." She grumbled, as she got to her feet.

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Faith on this." Giles said, as he adjusted his glasses, he was about to say something else when a series of pops sounded behind them they all turned around to see a number of witches, wizards, mutants, soldiers, potentials and Xander standing there, though a number of them looked the worst for wear.

"Whoa easy there, we come in peace." Xander exclaimed putting a flaming sword into a guard position between him and the weapons the other potentials pointed at him.

"Xander your all right!" Dawn said with a grin, as she gave the man a quick bone-breaking hug. "We heard about the zombies and wondered how many of them were going to want to start dating you."

"Hey!" Xander whined at one of his best friends sister.

"Sorry, but we did have a pretty good reason to be worried." Willow pointed out with a wry grin of her own, as she gave her best friend a hug.

"Yeah, but do you have to be so honest about it?" Xander joked back at the two.

"We need to find a secure location until we can think of a wat past those monsters and the fire ward, any ideas where that would be?" McGonagall asked, as she gave the group of relieved friends a harsh glare at their humor.

"Yeah, this way." A voice growled, they all turned and saw Mad-Eye Moody and Bra'Tac standing there the both of them looked the worst for wear, but were both standing under the own power despite the pained grimaces they wore.

"Yeah, we know where the perfect place is, and its right across from that flaming place so it'll be a good place to hole up at till its safe to move across the street."

"You are assuming that it will at some point be safe to cross the street Moody my friend."

Mad-Eye gave his Jaffa counterpart a grin. Think of it as the ultimate piece of the training that you love."

"Only if you will remain constantly vigilante during the battle." Bra'Tac joked back.

"I think I can keep up my end." Moody growled at the First Prime.

"And I mine."

The wizards shook their heads as Mad-Eye Moody acted as if he had found his second half.

"Enough of this," McGonagall ordered, "we need to get everyone to safety now."

"Follow then." Bra'Tac ordered, and with a sweep of his cloak was leading them towards the building. He and Moody walked up the steps lightly and knelt by the door.

"Clear." Moody growled and Bra'Tac opened the door and ushered everyone in.

"Signal for Teal'c with your radio, he should be somewhere on the inside of this building, then tell him that we are going to be out there hunting the creatures of the night." Bra'tac informed one of the soldiers who nodded, as he took the lead along with Nightcrawler and headed into the building. The two Dukes nodded a greeting and the two battle-worn soldiers nodded as the two cousins finally joined back up with them, they each carried a pack with a new supply of arrows and dynamite.

"Come my friend, now we can hunt them now that they are all safe."

"Aye this we'll be fun." The two drifted into the shadows to begin huntng for the various creatures that the night still held.

* * *

Jack O'Neill sighed as he watched another wave of zombies fry against the shield, the flames were slowly but surely getting lower and lower, sooner or later they would be gone and when that did happen they wouldn't have anyone of the wand wavers to help them since they had all poured their power into charging the ring of fire. He had told the men to hold their fire, but occasionally when a really big group formed someone would launch an AN-M14 TH3 scattering the zombies before they could pile onto the wall. They were currently stuck with this waiting game, trying to see which side cracked first, would the town run out of zombies first, or would the ring of fire fail before the zombies were all turned into crispy critters?

He didn't know how the hell people were supposed to make it back to base with the kinds of odds facing them out there, he hoped that the Slayer hadn't made a bad command choice, even if he knew intellectually that they needed to get everyone back together so they could figure out what the hell was going on. They had gotten a bit cocky with their increased numbers; of course that cockiness had been stopped easily enough after a few skirmishes, though on the bright side they had come out ahead in those fights when you actually looked at the numbers for the most part. At least he thought they had that is.

"Any news Carter?" He asked his teammate and friend.

"No sir, things are still the same as they were earlier, and sir, the number of creatures out there isn't getting smaller it's getting bigger."

"Well, as long as we're all having fun." Jack said, as he watched the formerly human figures getting together for another attack run. He could only hope that raising this many dead and controlling them would weaken the dark wizards as much as the ring of fire had their wizards.

* * *

We are nearly ready Dean Winchester another half hour and we should be ready to begin turning the guns on can you and your people standby at the places we tell you to?

"Yeah sure big guy, no problemo." Dean said into his radio.

"Good. Prepare yourself Winchester, there is a large force heading your way."

"We understand." Rachel said, as she took the radio and stuffed it back in Dean's Jacket. "Shall we go?"

"Lead on babe." The two rounded the corner and Dean brought his gun up and Rachel her sword as they faced Nightcrawler and the soldier. "Oh its you guys," Dean said as he lowered his gun, "I thought that you were actually somebody."

"Funny Winchester." The soldier growled out, as he radioed the others that they had made contact.

"Yo big guy, we got what looks like the remains of the museum team here."

"That is good news, have anyone capable of working a computer well report here. the rest of them should begin setting up patrols."

"You got it." He clicked the radio off again and looked the people over. "All right, you heard him, all you computer savvy people need to go with gorgeous here the rest of you need to find places in which to set up guard positions till we can figure a way to regroup with the rest of our forces and kick those guys out of the way."

"Indubitably a wise course of action my young gun toting friend." Beast said, as he Willow and Xavier followed after Rachel. Dean blinked a few times as he realized that he was now going to have to deal with all of the various potentials as well. He looked over at the really hot looking woman with her arm in a sling. "Take your wounded and find a place to rest. Course if you want I could probably give you a sponge bath to."

Faith grinned licking her lips as she looked at the blond before her. "Tempting as that might be stud, the fact is that I'm not quiet as limber as I usually am and B would probably hurt me if I bedded you. Not mention it might make Robin a bit jealous, you know how it is with having the beginning of a relationship a bit messed up by the drifter I'm sure your almost as good at it as I am."

"Hey, I am oh so much better than you at it." Dean defended himself.

"Right." The slayer drawled out disbelievingly, as she looked him up and down one more time before she actually sauntered past him despite the makeshift sling she was wearing.

Dean watched her pass before he shook his head in disbelief; he sent a cocky grin at a dark skinned man bald man. "What?"

"Nothing," the man said coolly as he took a number of the girls along with some of the witches and wizards to find a room where they could rest up.

* * *

Teal'c looked up as three new figures joined them, the first two were the hoa'taur he knew slightly having conversed with them earlier, the red haired tauri mystic was with them as well. He remembered that their briefing had included what was known about the group known as the scoobies, and remembered that she along with Daniel Osborne had both been offered high paying government jobs in the tauri business world upon their graduation for their computer skills.

"It is good that you are here, we need to finish reprogramming these weapons as fast as possible, it will allow those that are hidden behind the fire wall to get a chance to think on how we are to make it across."

"Of course it ought to be a most fascinating undertaking." Hank McCoy said, as he bounced toward a terminal and began working occasionally asking for assistance when a word in Goul'd came up. Teal'c sighed with relief, a several hour project would now only take another half hour if you included the time it took to reconnect the weapons this was a good thing. The combined teamwork of hoa'taur, tauri and Jaffa were able to quickly finish the required work.

"Daniel Jackson, I am sending the jaffa to reconnect the weapons prepare to activate the weapons on my command."

"All right go." The man said, as he settled himself in front of one of the main computers. Teal'c strode out followed by the jaffa Daniel waited while the group began reconnecting the damaged weapons back up. He turned and saw that Willow and Oz had finally stopped ignoring each other and were now actually looking at each other. He watched them while pretending to focus on the computer screen; he just hoped nothing bad happened.

"Oz hey hi." The witch said uncertainly as she was now face to face with her ex.

"Willow." The werewolf returned to the one person that his wolf had ever recognized as his mate. That was the problem with being a werewolf while humans could change in their feelings wolves mated for life and only ever even considered mating again after their chosen mate was dead even so they rarely did.

"So, how you been? You kind of left in a hurry last time."

"Good. How's Tara?"

Willow looked sadly beyond her terminal, and into something that she couldn't really see. "Dead."

The werewolf's sad eyes turned to his love. "I'm sorry." He said, grabbing her hand up into his and just holding onto it comforting her the best he could.

Willow smiled, this was the Oz she remembered complete with comforting presence and one to five word answers to questions. One of the longest conversations that she could remember having with him had been abut whether or not to make out in his van while Cordelia and Xander were stealing the rocket launcher.

"So why did you come back?"

"They asked. Anyways, Buffy's alpha."

Willow's eyebrows rose at that comment, she didn't think that Oz went that far into the whole wolf mentality thing, then again it had been a long time since saw him, and she hadn't gotten to ask all the questions that gaining control of the wolf meant. She remembered that their had been a bit of wildness to him that he had just kept hidden last time. She also felt a bit of shame that Oz still felt a sense of loyalty to her best friend, when she was still unsure about following her, she knew she had to follow the blond Slayer, but she couldn't help but wonder what disaster her old friend would bring on them next. Yet here was Oz, as loyal as well a dog.

"Why?"

"We were losing people, and Buffy wanted to go back where we had just lost a lot of people, she was getting all controlly and didn't even ask us anymore just doing stuff. And hey, we're the original scoobies, she should have at least talked with us you know?

"She's alpha." Oz explained, as if that was good enough answer for him. "You had a choice."

"Choice, what choice? Buffy so was not giving us a choice." She argued back at him.

"Go or stay."

"Oh yeah, that choice." Willow said softly as she squirmed under his disappointed gaze, she hadn't felt like this in front of a guy since Oz had caught her kissing Xander in Spike's factory lair. She was so wishing for Xander, Giles and Dawn right about now, or maybe even Kennedy. Yeah her girlfriend would be good to have right about now, even if she did provoke her ex-boyfriend into changing and clawing her up.

"You were hurting." The musician noted.

"Well yeah, one thing after another just kept happening, so I guess we all jus kind of lost it."

"Don't let it control you."

"Easy for you to say, your all Mr. Calm except for when you're not, cause then you go all furry and grry and angry. Then there's the fact that you are like the whole zen master who's just there, I mean why is it that you get to be the one with all the self control. What?" She asked as she saw a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Your still cute when you babble."

"Oh yeah, still babble girl, uh huh, that's like a part of the whole Willow package kind of like my red hair."

"Forgive yourself first." The werewolf said stopping her new babble.

"But it's so hard, I mean I know we didn't do things right and that we were all acting a bit weird lately."

"Fight each other later. Fight the First now"

"But."

"War is now."

"But."

"Indeed, your former companion is correct Miss. Rosenberg, while it is true that you acted somewhat foolishly, now is not the time for such things. You acted rashly, and nearly paid for it, now you have a chance to prove that you are worthy of fighting alongside the Slayer. To do that though you must not be stuck with your thoughts of failure, but rather you need to focus on the tasks that lie ahead of you now."

"All right then, I'll do it for the team." The girl said glumly, she knew she had a lot of things to do and even a lot more thinking to make right some of the pain that she had dealt Buffy if she was going to repair their seven odd years worth of friendship that they had.

Teal'c nodded at the tauri mystic before turning to his teammate. "Activate the weapons Daniel Jackson." He ordered the man who nodded and typed in the required command codes required. They all strained their ears as they heard the soft thumping sound of the Goul'd energy weapons as they began blasting into the ranks of the enemy inferi.

"For Master Bra'tac."

"Why for him?" Willow asked, "He and that Moody guy are alive, or is this cause they won't be much longer?"

"What do you speak of mystic?" Teal'c said rounding on the young woman in worry.

"What the dear lady means is that the man whom you spoke of is currently using hit and run attacks with one of the wizards against the inferi." The Beast said from his seat.

"Indeed Teal'c said worriedly wondering if it would be by their own cannons that Master Bra'tac would die by or the monsters.

* * *

"Sir, I think we just got a miracle."

"Why what happened?"

"The building across from us just opened fire on the zombies sir, they're not really weakening them a whole lot but the cannons that are being used are catching them on fire."

"Great how long an estimate do we have on those firewalls?"

Carter grimaced as she huddled over with the red haired wizard that had created the wall. She turned back to her CO with a grim look. "We have approximately five minutes until the wall fails if they keep slamming into us like this sir, then the whole things fail all at once.

"What about the guys on the other side? They seem to be putting some holes into them."

"Unfortunately sir the damage was already done by the time the weapons started, if they don't keep coming at us like they have been then the wall will just fall apart over a few minutes instead of just vanishing all at once."

"Damn it. Jack growled as he slammed his fist into a wall. "How are we supposed to stop them then Carter? There's still a ton of those things out there. He waved his uninjured hand to indicate all of the resurrected bodies.

"I'm not sure sir, but we could have our people lay land mines and such on the edge of the fire circle." Sam suggested racking her brain for any ideas that might slow this army down.

"Not enough time Carter we need something better than that."

"Working on it sir."

Jack nodded and looked into the eyes of Samantha Finn who merely shook her head as well, neither of them had a plan that would get them out of this one. He turned back to his own friend, and his tired eyes locked with Samantha Carter's own fear laced eyes, her mind was running over every possible scenario that might give them some sort of victory but the incredible mind of Samantha Carter was drawing a blank on how to stop them from all dying. The two soldiers turned back to watch the creatures as they battered the firewall, standing as close to each other as they could.

* * *

The inferi turned their attention away from the fire-protected building and turned to the unprotected building that was firing its energy blasts at them their master ordered them to destroy this nuisance they advanced on the building moving slowly the creatures began their attack the cannons blazed at the inferi joined by spell fire weapons and mutant strikes that were slowing them down a hail of ice splinters flew through one group going through the various creatures with a mighty surge sometimes the collective blast were enough to knock a limb off. Thunder bolts and cosmic blasts joined the attack making small gaps and Jaffa weapons blew into the inferi. Two Jaffa stood outside the doors and blew through one after another and died guarding the main entrance.

Xavier looked out the window of the building and sighed as he scanned the minds of all of the people, and felt the helplessness that they all felt as one defense as after another failed soon the last line of defense would fail and they would be forced to die because they had failed in their task to protect the world he had one wild card left he hoped that it was enough. _'Now old friend.'_ He telepathically sent, hoping that this would be enough, as he had no other cards to play after this gambit.

* * *

The firewall finally spluttered and died and Jack looked on as the creatures attention was now split between the bases with moans and groans both building were soon under assault. Jack fired at the head of one that was close to him; while he threw an AN-M14 TH3 into the monsters with his other hand, his jaw dropped at the explosion this one made, what had they put into that one? He watched in awe as the flames from that one grenade grew bigger and bigger. "Hit the deck!" He yelled, before tackling Carter, the two were face to face and Jack closed his eyes as flames roared over his head. He heard a couple of screams as some people were not quiet fast enough, and were caught in the blast of fire, he turned his head upward and saw that the flames were somehow just hovering about at waist height burning all of the inferi nearby, the flames retracted and swirled, and soon a large fire tunnel formed and connected the two buildings.

"Carter what's going on." He asked his second in command, as he tired to make some type of sense out of what it was that he was seeing.

"Not sure sir," she said, as he rolled off of her and stood to look in awe as the tunnel burned any of the monsters that got near it.

Jack nodded, he wasn't sure what was going on, but he sure wasn't going to look a gift horse like this in the mouth. "Teal'c old buddy, set those weapons on a timer to start back up then get out of there the way is clear!"

"Understood O'Neill."

Jack waited and watched as all sorts of people made a run to their side of the tunnel it looked like everyone had regrouped there, and was now regrouping here with them Teal'c led the last remains of the Jaffa as they rushed away from the building. Jack frowned when he saw that he was only leading two Jaffa, he wondered what had happened to the others.

"We are all here O'Neill, now what?"

"Now we get everyone inside to safety and prepare for the next round of zombies."

"That will not be necessary." An arrogant and bemused voice said from above them. Everyone turned and looked up to see a man with white hair, clear blue eyes and with a helmet and cape standing on a flat circular piece of metal that was hovering thirty feet in the air, near him stood five other similar piece of metal about ten feet back two of them had two familiar forms as Moody and Bra'tac were looking the worst for wear.

"Charles its good to see you again."

"You to Eric." Xavier returned with a tired smile. "I am glad that you got my message and came."

"I figured I could do it for old times sake. Besides I did owe you for nearly killing you and stealing the helicopter old friend." The man said, as he looked down at the various people, he sneered at the human as their hands tightened on their weapons while he looked curiously at the witches and wizards with interest and more bemusement he also kept a careful eye on Cyclops as his visor flashed a brighter red with barely suppressed anger. "But now is not the time for this, Pyro finish those abominations off."

"Yes sir," one of the figures said, and snapped his fingers and they all watched in amazement as the fire tunnel exploded outward and caught any of the remaining inferi in the fire, the entire street was engulfed in flame, yet the assembled heroes didn't even need to move since the flames stayed away from them.

"That was very well done John." Xavier said from his seat, "It appears that your control has gotten even better than it was since the last time I tested you."

"Yes Pyro, excellent work." Magneto complimented the teen.

"Thank you."

"Well, shall we go in?"

"If you will wait a moment, the last members of my team are coming in right now." Xavier said pointing toward the sky.

Magneto followed the finger and his eyes widened slightly as he saw a familiar looking girl with brown and white hair flying through the air and carrying a teammate in either hand. The girl stopped in front of Magneto glaring at him angrily she dropped her two friends and pulled her fist back.

"Rogue no!" Xavier barked out, stopping the girl from decking the Master of Magnetism."

"Oh its all right Charles, as long as she's wearing her gloves I don't mind if she tries to hit me." Magneto said with a smirk as he opened his arms and smirked at the girl. "Come on Rogue, take your best shot." Rogue grinned viciously and slammed her fist at him. Magneto's superior smirk changed to surprise, as Rogue's fist slammed into his magnetic shield, and sent him flying off the metal disk and into the bushes.

Wolverine chuckled as he knelt down beside Magneto. "Girl's got a hell of a right hook now Mags, you might want to be more careful when ya piss her off."

"I'll be sure to remember that." Magneto said, as he pushed himself back up. The other flat discs landed and the people all looked at the Brotherhood nervously, while Mad-Eye and Bra'tac were given a quick examination. "Well, shall we go in now?"

"Of course, come on in Eric."

"Thank you Charles," with a sweep of his cape Magneto led his mutant followers in, though he did stop to look at Rogue who was standing there with a cocky smirk on her face. "You have so much potential my dear, it's a shame you waste it with them."

"Better them than you." She said, before she stalked away from him and went to stand next to a dark haired boy that had just appeared it seemed.

Magneto and Mystique chuckled at the defiance as they entered the building. Jack looked at Daniel and Teal'c . "Well folks there goes the neighborhood." Several people chuckled at this but didn't argue.


	28. Ch 28

The texaswookie is teleported into a room and groans as he gets back up, wondering just what it is that he will be facing this time. He looks around and doesn't see anything off hand, wishing that he had some type of chocolate after that run in with the Dementor. He suddenly begins to shake in fear as the lights go out and large green mutated rats from his nightmares start showing up. "No, your not real." The writer says, as he takes a fearful step back, a cool wind blows and he looks behind him to see Barbus the demon of Fear standing behind him with a mocking grin on his elderly face.

"Are you absolutely sure that they're not real?" The writer just swallows nervously as the Green Mutated Rats come ever closer. "I must congratulate you, it has been quiet a while since I've had to do mutated rats even if these aren't the biggest ones that I've ever done." The texaswookie just stands there and shakes in fear. "There, there it will soon all be over."

"R-Right." The writer says disbelievingly. "Tell you what, I give the disclaimer you make these things leave."

"Well, I suppose I can work with that."

"Fine, good, great even. Whoa!" The texaswookie jumps backs as one of the rats takes an angry swipe at him. "Crap," the writer croaks, as his throat becomes too dry to talk.

"Augemnti!" Ron Weasley says, shooting a stream of water at the writer from his wand, and soaking the writer to the bone.

"Couldn't you have just made a glass out of something?"

"Oh yeah." The Weasley boy says with a blush, as he made a wooden cup appear. "Hear ya go mate."

"Thanks." The writer says dryly.

"Thank me by getting rid of those bloody green rats of yours."

"Right, I the writer of this story lay no claim whatsoever to any of the characters in this story that I have written. They belong to various companies and writers and if you'll look through the other chapters you'll find the exact names of the people that own the characters I am using." The rats and Barbus gave disappointed looks but disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "Well that was a kind of fun that wasn't."

(The green mutant rats actually were an old childhood fear of mine that I actually got over, though sometimes I still see them when I close my eyes.)

Pipinator89 came up with the idea for this disclaimer.

* * *

Don't get used to this quick of an update folks I just got lucky that I had a lot of free time at work for a few days.

* * *

Buffy forced herself up from the nice comfy chair that she had been sitting in, and looked at the concerned faces of all of the people gathered in this room. All right almost all of the people, she thought, as she saw the glare of Kennedy, though it did have a bit of respect in it now, she also saw the looks of indifference that the Brotherhood of Mutants had to her struggle to stand. The only one of the Mutants who seemed to actually be paying her any mind was the bucket head guy, what did he call himself, Magenta? She swallowed before she began to address the people in the room giving a quick glance to either side of her where the two ensouled vampires sat. "I hate to admit it people, but we're still getting our collective butts handed to us despite the number we now have. The fact that every human that died and left a body, or was at least buried in Sunneyhell rose up and attacked us probably has something to do with that though." 

"You think?" A dozen different people muttered at her sarcastically.

Buffy smirked lightly at that response. "Yeah I do. After all as the person all in charge I happen to now have the power to state the oh so very obvious, and I can look pretty while doing it to."

"She's got a point you know, she does look better saying it when you compare her next to a balding General." Jack pointed out, getting some more chuckles and a few scandalized looks.

"All right, now that we're ready," the Slayer said getting serious, "how do we stop this invasion from hell? We may have hurt them, but they've still got a lot of people and bodies to use against us. What are the losses anyways?" The Slayer asked hesitantly, afraid to know what the answer would be.

"We've lost Hagrid from the Wizards, and Colossus from the X-Men, they are both so beat up that it's a miracle that they're even alive actually. Slayer Faith is severely wounded with almost no use of her right arm at the moment, though she should be nearly completely healed by tomorrow, we've lost a number of soldiers and wizards and witches, and we're down to four Jaffa counting Teal'c, the rest of us are hurt and tired from all of the fighting that we have been doing over the past few hours.

"Any ideas what the First's numbers are like?"

"Unknown, but we do know that the First still has the loyalty of the Demon Ninja, they are just currently without a leader for the moment."

"That Amy witch is still out there to though yo." Faith pointed out from where she sat next to the scoobies. "Don't know if any of you noticed, but that bitch has some serious mojo going going for her. If it hadn't been for farmer boy and Streak, I don't think she would have to run off, hell I don't think that she would have dropped her shield."

"Beast you look like you have something to add."

"Nothing to do with the enemy numbers we are currently opposing, I am merely going over the skin sample I picked up when we were doing medical scans for our various patients. This particular one is Rogue's, it appears that the enhancements from Kal-El have yet to fade away as Magneto can attest for us with her enhanced strength. In fact from what I was able to ascertain the dimensional polar opposite of your adopted Extra Terrestrial kinsman may be permanent."

"In English?" Dean, Jack, Wolverine, Ron, Prue, Xander, Ron and Buffy growled in annoyance at the blue furred scientist with the tired tones of people long accustomed to reminding someone that not everyone understood these sorts of things.

"He said that the powers Rogue got from Kal-El aren't all going away sir." Carter said loudly enough so that everyone could hear her. "In fact they appear to becoming permanent."

"Well why couldn't he have just said that?"

"Why do that when he has someone to translate for him?"

"Right, whatever."

"Anyways what about the dark wand waving wizards?"

"They appear to be incapacitated at the moment, it is likely that the vast amount of magical energy used in raising the inferi has tired them out, much like raising and holding that fire shield around the base did our own wand wavers. Even more so if as we suspect the dark mark is able to feed the magic of the Death Eaters into Voldemort."

"Well that's good, so they're either out of it or waiting to heal up that means we got a really narrow time to take themn on and kick their butts right?"

"Fraid so kiddo."

"Great, anyone got any super butt stomping ideas?"

"The Brotherhood has already participated and done all that it plans to in this battle." Magneto said from his seat. "I shall take any of you with special abilities with me when we take our leave. Sad though it is it is obvious that the Earth is not going to survive the coming darkness, if those in this building are all that will be standing against it."

"You just got here, you sure you don't want to hang around and see the sights? We could show you all of the cool cemeteries. You simply can't come to Sunneydale and not at least stop at one of the cemeteries." Xander shot off at the mutant leader.

"Do not annoy me human, I have very little patience for your kind." Magneto threatened, while Pyro stepped up to meet the man a lighter in either of his hands.

"That's enough." Duncan said sliding in between the two. "If you don't plan on helping then I'm going to have to ask you to leave us be so we can do what we can do what we can."

Magneto nodded and waved Pyro away from the two men. The boy glared as he placed his two lighters away. "Very well, if you are all sure that you wish to die for a planet that will never accept you for what you truly are then I will leave you here. Just remember this though, that even if you were to somehow miraculously win that you will not be winning the planet not for yourselves but for the hypocrites that would hunt each and every one of you down and then kill you for your abilities."

"True, but it gives life a bit of excitement." Ritchie said with a cocky devil may care grin.

Magneto turned and looked at the various people and saw that while a number of them looked nervous and scared they all had a grim look of acceptance. "I see, you have all decided to needlessly waste your lives then. Myself and the rest of the Brotherhood can not chance failure and would rather take leave of you while we can."

"You mean take the cowards way out?" Rogue asked from where she was hiding. "Always got some fancy speech ready about how your going to sacrifice for mutant kind, yet when the time comes you find convenient ways to use someone else as a sacrifice since you think you have to be the king and all."

"Careful of what you say child or I may have to test the limits you now have. Come Brotherhood we shall leave these here to their fate and watch from above. If any change their mind in time we will save you."

"Uh huh, yeah well g'bye we got stuff to do now." Phoebe said waving the mutant off.

"Are you so sure you and your sisters will not join us child? Abilities such as yours could be extremely useful."

"I think I'm going to have to take a pass on that one." The wandless witch replied to the Master of Magnetisim.

"Very well then my dear." Magneto said, as he had his mutants follow him, he paused in front of Xavier. "Charles."

"Eric." Xavier returned at his former friend, the two men looked at each other sadly before Magneto walked on.

"Come Pyro."

"John." Bobby said holding his hand out to his old friend. "You don't have to go with him." Bobby pleaded looking at the person he had gone to school with.

The mutant teen turned to face his friend, for a moment the two teens weren't in a council of war but rather their thoughts were on a group that snuck away from boring tours sneaking around the Xavier Mansion, and one upping each other with Rogue. The teen's dark brown eyes then hardened as they stared in the blue pleading eyes of Bobby.

"My true name is Pyro, remember that Iceman."

"My true name is still Bobby." The Ice elemental told the Fire elemental.

"If you say so." Pyro shot at his old friend, before he followed after Magneto.

"Well that was fun." Buffy grumbled as the last members of the Brotherhood trooped out.

"You and I obviously own different dictionaries." Bobby said not turning to look at anyone but Rogue.

"Yeah, sorry about that wish you had time think this out Bobby but we don't have time for that. Can you listen?" The mutant nodded as he retook his seat.

"Okay, so back to how do we deal with the First? We've got to go up against around 200 demon ninjas, a super witch with a big grudge against Willow, a few idiots with inferiority complexes with space guns that think that they're following the word of a god, and maybe a handful of the wand waving wizards did I miss anyone or anything?"

"Bringers, whatever Immortals are left, and super vamps." Dawn said, ticking the groups off on her fingers.

"Thanks Dawn, sometimes you really know how to make a person feel good about the odds they're facing, you'll make a great Watcher one of these days."

"Oz, how are you by the way? Those hellhounds really tore a chunk out of me, I'd hate to think what they did to you when they were trying to turn you into their own personal chew toy."

"I'm good." The werewolf said from his seat where he was sipping on a healing potion, he also had yellow goop covering severasl of his deeper scratches.

"Uh huh," The slayer said disbelieving of him, she and Oz were probably the only two that were conscience and had wounds, all of the others that had been wounded had died for the most part or were unconscious.

"So how do we stop all these things?" Dean asked wanting to get to the heart of the problem.

"Well, as of now all artifact hunting jobs are cancelled."

"What? But there are still so many things that we can retrieve." Daniel started, only to be cut off by the Slayer.

"Sorry doc, but look around you, we lost a lot of good people trying to clean the city out, and that was only on one artifact mission and one information gathering mission. Now just imagine what our numbers would be if we hadn't prepared for that sort of thing? Face it doc if it hadn't been for the Dukes and Hagrid we would have lost a lot of people getting all of that stuff out of there, we would have been trampled. I sure won't risk the lives of my family just to salvage stuff that might be useful."

"But."

"Hey Daniel, we're talking about the fate of the world here."

"Really Jack? I must have missed that memo somewhere."

"Right, well consider the memo served." Buffy said rolling her eyes, "now then, we need to find a way to shut the First down cause we're still reacting folks, all those fights and mini wars that we just fought we were just reacting to the forces of the First, and while we may have won them for the most part we also just barely walked away from them as well. Face it folks, the First is toying with us, pulling its punches while it prepares itself for one really big shove. All of the fights that its made happen have been nothing but testing us seeing what are real skills are, like some of those same tests were probably meant to keep some of us back and keep us to worried about anything else, so the million dollar question is how do we hurt the First?"

"No argument we have to hurt that son of a bitch." Dean agreed, "I only got one question, where is the bitch vunerable."

"If only there was a place that held all of their forces then we could just blow them up."

The core scoobies all looked up at this, a desicive place where the First could be hurt was already known in fact it was where any all likely reinforcements that the First would were likely to come from.

"Just how crazy a plan do we need exactly?" Xander asked curiously.

"You've got the beginning of one don't you?" Riley said with interest.

"Well maybe." The one-eyed carpenter admitted as he turned to Buffy. "Why not take out the First's reserve troops?"

"It's reserves?"

"Yeah think about it Buffster, what would happen if you stopped the hellmouth in its throat? It'd stop the First from spewing anymore super vamps at us. For all we know it's a simple matter of blowing the seal up as well. Magnet boy would have been real useful for that."

"Doubtful Xander, the seal is the magical opening to the hellmouth I don't even someone who can alter magnetic fields with their minds could do much to the seal." Giles informed the young man.

"It does have merit though." Carter said, as she got a thoughtful look on her face. "While we may not be able to destroy the seal we, should be able to do a large amount of damage to whatever it is that is on the inside, it could damage whatever forces are currently there, and stop them at their very source of power."

"Add in the fact that you can add a hellmouth to the list of things that you've either blown up or helped blown up. Shoot Carter this one might go right up there next to blowing up a sun."

"Surely an explosion of that magnitude would be counter productive to saving the Earth O'Neill."

"You blew up a sun?" Several people asked, ignoring the Jaffa's question as several goofy grins spread across the faces of the various people.

"-Anyway you might-"

"-be willing-"

"-To show us that memory?-" The Weasley twins asked the astrophysics Major pleadingly.

"And I thought blowing up the High School was for graduation was impressive." The Slayer said impressed with the Air Force Major

"Your Highschool?" Dean asked with a dreamy grin pointed at her.

"Hey it seemed like a good idea at the time." Xander defended.

"Buffy, Xander no more! Do you want the First to come back as Snyder?" Willow asked with a sickened look on her face as her friends opened their mouths to say more. The three scoobies shivered at the thought of the image of the obnoxious little troll with a stick the size of an Emu stuck up his butt, none of them wanted to ever see the vile little man ever again.

"So we take the fight to the First then?"

"Good defense is a good offense." Wolverine said with a grin.

"Your right." The slayer said in agreement, she felt the heavy weight of the amulet that Angel had brought in her pocket, somewhere on this makeshift base of theirs was hopefully someone who could wear the amulet, unfortunately they didn't know who the hell was supposed to, they didn't even know what the thing did. Add in to the confusion of how it was meant for someone more than human, did that mean someone like one of the mutants or Jaffa, or someone mystically more, like the various witches and wizards or maybe even Sam Winchester or maybe it was one of the Immortals they definitely seemed to be a bit more than your average human.

"If we do this, we may have to split our forces." Samantha Finn said, as they all began to seriously plan on how they could destroy the army hidden beneath the seal. "I seriously doubt that the troops on the outside are going to let us just hurt their army without something to say about it."

"Your right on that, you can't just try and take out the army if the advance guard is making it more difficult for you to get where you need to be." Methos said from his own seat.

"So we let some people deal with the army of super vamps while some of us deal with the rest of the forces up here, they only got a few Immortals a load of ninjas, witches and wizards, and whatever else they can manage to scrape together." Ritchie said with an air of someone who was unconcerned. "It'll be a piece of cake right Mack?"

"If it'll be so easy then perhaps you should deal with it while I stay at home and protect my head." Duncan said dryly to his younger companion.

"Gee Mack, your just showing the love tonight aren't you?" Richie complained to his friend.

"If we do disable them like your suggesting, then we are going to need everyone available for the job that means we're going to need to get our wounded out of dodge."

"I say we just air lift our wounded out of here," Jack said briskly," we've lost a lot of our power, but like you said there is a chance that this Darth Vader wannabe was weakened enough that he and his people will be out of the fight long enough for us to do something."

"Old guy has a point, we make our move in the next 24 hrs we might have enough of an advantage to hit them back hard wait much longer than that and we probably will get the stuffing knocked out of us."

"Then we better radio those helicopters to come and make a retrieval then so we can disable their reserves."

"You do that, but we'll portkey our people back to England, it'll save your people some time in loading up."

"Yeah, besides I'm sure they really wanted to load that Hagrid guy up."

"Here's a question, are they reserves down there, or are they the main army like some of us suspect? Remember the forces that we've been facing so far are the ones that have already been spread out on the Earth for a while, at most you would consider them the first wave of troops. The disposable troops if you will." Br'tac said, several of the others nodded with the old Jaffa's thoughts.

"In other words, the First is just trying to tire us out with these guys while it prepares its army by the time its army is ready we'll all be so tired and probably be completely out of tricks cause we used them up on the people that are already here to affect the balance in fact by destroying them all right here at this moment it could in fact give the First the strength it would need to force a large army up out of hell to take its place."

"So, if we gotta go down I want to be facing the big guns not the distractions." Buffy growled out at her assembled people and family. "That means that we are going to hit the Hellmouth as hard as we can and hope we hurt the First's army badly enough that they can't get out. I think we'll also add the Winchester's binding circle around the seal as well it might slow it down somewhat."

"Well if you gotta go this seems like the way to do it."

"Yeah we got lots of guns, hot women and I'm sure we can scrounge up some booze." Dean added with a lazy grin. "Seems like we got all the things needed to make a really nice party."

Buffy smirked at this. "All right, I have a few other ideas that might give us the extra umph needed but I think that only the group leaders need to know about that if it involves you we'll let you know." Nodding people filed out of the room until only O'Neill, Finn, Bra'tac, Moody, Remus, McGonagall, Xavier, Cyclops, Wolverine, Faith, and the core scoobies, along with Angel and Spike were the only ones left in the room. They all listened quietly as the Slayer described her plan to them and pulled out her two wild cards the Scythe and the amulet.

"So what do you think to wild and crazy?"

Giles sat there for a moment and cleaned his glasses before he looked at her. "Its probably the most rash and crazy idea that you've ever had, I think its bloody brilliant."

Faith looked serious for a moment before gracing her sister slayer with a devil may care grin while nodding.

Bra'tac nodded in agreement as well. "If we are to succeed in protecting your world Buffy Summers of California I believe that these measures are indeed needed. What say the rest of you?"

"Militaries in no matter how crazy we think it is unless we think you uselessly throwing away peoples lives, but this way we might actually be giving the rest of the world a fighting chance."

"The X-Men will be at your side as well little cousin."

"We'll stand with ya as well lass." Moody growled out for the wand wavers.

"Agreed. Angel?"

"I'm there." The dark haired vampire said.

Willow reluctantly nodded as well she would do her part as well.

"All right, it'll be game time soon, everybody get some rest. Angel, Spike stay here." The vampires nodded, but that didn't stop them from sending glares at the Sunneydalers, though Angel's eyes softened when he looked at Faith who gave a shaky grin.

"Um B, should I stay in case they can't behave?"

"No they will behave, or they will find themselves on the next ride out of town. Right boys." The two vampires glowered at each other but nodded in agreement. "See no problem."

"Right." Faith drawled, but left anyways.

Buffy waited till the others were gone before she turned to her two former lovers. She pulled the amulet out and held it out letting it dangle by its chain reflecting some of the lights. "This is supposed to be worn by someone who is more than human Spike."

"So you autmaticaly thought that it meant one of us did ya." Spike asked, as he looked at the amulet with a hungry look of one wanting to prove themselves.

"Actually it belongs to a **Champion**." The slayer said emphasizing the last word.

Spike looked at the amulet for a second longer before his face fell in defeat. He looked back up though when the amulet was thunked down in front of him, he was about to gloat at his grandsire when the elder Vampire began talking.

"You are the Champion's Champion Spike, trust me she may not be doing you any favors by offering you that piece of jewelry."

"I'll take my chances mate." Spike said as he grabbed the amulet off of the table and slid it into his pocket.

"Good," Angel said, "come on, we have to get Buffy back in a bed and load her up on healing potions."

"Too right."

"Do I have to?" The blonde slayer whined.

"Yes!" The two vampires answered.

"Hey, yoou two actually agreed on something." she teased them.

"Don't change the subject Slayer, you're going back to the med wing."

"If you do it, I'll see if I can't save you some chocolate pop tarts." Angel added in with a knowing smirk.

Buffy's face fell at that to one of annoyance. "No fair using chocolate bribes." She growled at him, but got back up and was lead back to the medwing. The vampires walked with her and made sure she drank all the required potions and then had a couple of wizards create a couple of leather couches that they could doze on while they took turns watching over her.


	29. Ch 29

The texaswookie groans as he dodges a couple of fireballs that were being thrown at him. "Why do I keep on putting myself into these situations?" The writer wonders, as he dodges yet another fireball.

"You could tell the readers what zhey should hear." Fleur Delacour said as she conjured another fireball thanks to her Veela heritage and tossed the ball as fast as she could.

"Fine, fine. I the texaswookie do hereby lay no claim to any of the characters in this nearly complete story only a few more chaps to go hurray!"

* * *

Each group of fighters and warriors that had come could all feel the tension that the night brought. Silently but surely they made their ways toward their close friends and family, as they mentally prepared themselves for the magical equivalent of what was likely to be the Alamo or Custard's Last Stand, they all knew they were out numbered hopelessly, but still they prepared themselves for the battle that was coming upon them. Some rested while others merely stared out into the night preparing themselves for the dangers that they would all be facing come tomorrow morning, and how it was likely that none of them were likely to see the stars again after tonight.

Duncan watched silently as his friends rested, of them all Rachel and Ritchie concerned him the most, they were not born into warrior cultures like the McLeod's and Methos were, no they were different types of fighters, and he feared that this difference would be what killed them in this coming of fight.

"Its hard isn't it?" A familiar voice with a French accent asked, "standing there, knowing that while I am dead he is alive." Duncan steeled himself as he turned away from Ritchie to look at Tessa as she stood there before him dressed in a simple turtleneck sweater and jeans along with designer boots.

"First," he greeted while he stared at the form that he had loved so dearly, "are you trying to anger me?"

"You knew what he was the entire time didn't you Duncan?" The First accused while in Tessa's form. "You knew that sooner or later that he would die and become one of you."

"Yes I did." He admitted to the figure.

"And yet you never told me why?"

"It was something that I didn't want to think about, I never even told him. Ritchie is a great person, but I don't want to lose him. Besides, Tessa could almost never keep a secret when it came to something to do with Ritchie." Duncan wore a fond smile, as he remembered the beautiful woman that he had loved so dearly not so long ago.

"He is in some way's like the child you never had or could, is he not Highlander?"

"Aye that he is, and as such he will forever be protected from you and your kind." Conner said, as he tossed his covers off and faced the First. "Now then, be gone with ye creature of darkness."

"Is that how you all feel?"

"Well I can't exactly say anything for Methos over here and all, and I don't think that I need to speak for my buddies Duncan and Conner, but I think I'll be much happier when you get out of our faces and another thing you make a rotten Tess." Ritchie said from his bed.

"Really, and how can you be so sure?"

"Simple really, its all in the eyes, you got none of the warmth that Tess had, so why don't you go and pick on someone who actually listens to you all right?"

"Very well then Ritchie I'll consider what you say. By the way, what of you Death, Have you chosen your side? Time is quickly running out, and I would oh so hate to have to kill what was once one of my greatest warrior Generals. I would also hate having wasted so much time and energy talking to you all this time for you to turn your back on me in the end."

"You'll know what my final decision is soon enough." Methos told the figure before him ignoring the stunned looks that were being directed at him by the others.

"Very well so be it, oh and perhaps you should have this to remember me by." Tessa's form fell to the ground bleeding from her bullet wounds.

"Tessa!"

"No!"

Methos, Rachel and Conner held their friends back, as the two tried to get to the bleeding figure. Tessa laughed at the two of them. "This is how she died fools." The First then disappeared with a snap of light.

Ritchie pulled free of Methos hold and eyed him suspiciously. "Get away from me man."

"Ritchie now is not the time." Duncan said, as he sagged against his clansman weakly.

"And when is Mac, when he's ready to take our heads? How can we trust this guy if he won't even bother telling us that he's being visited by Evil itself?"

"He has a point Duncan." Conner said stopping Duncan's response to the young man. "Can we trust him not to betray us to the First?" Conner looked at the older immortal curiously. "I'd rather not risk my family if I can help it."

"Yes I think we can, we don't question Buffy when she gets visits from the First, I think we shall wait and see what happens with Methos before we do anything. The others nodded and walked back to their beds leaving Duncan and Methos alone. Methos nodded his thanks before he turned to his own bed.

"Methos."

"Yes?"

"You do betray us, I swear upon my Clan's honor that its one of the last things that you'll ever do, I'll make sure of it." Duncan threatened before he turned away.

* * *

Xavier rested, his duties in the coming fight were going to possibly put a strain on his abilities that he hadn't had in quiet a while. He only hoped that he was actually up to the challenge of what was to come tomorrow, he also hoped he wasn't leading his students to their deaths.

"You okay there Chuck? Ya look a little bit sick." Wolverine said, as he came near him.

"Merely thinking what the coming fight was going to bring Logan."

"Don't worry so much about it Xavier, either we win this fight and go back to our crazy lives, or we die in hell's throat." Wolverine said, as he offered Xavier a bottle of beer.

"No, I don't want any. Xavier said waving the bottle off. "I must make sure my mind stays clear. My powers are to dangerous to leave unchecked."

Logan shrugged as he tossed the bottle toward the teens. "That's fer all of ya ta share."

"Yes sir." The girls said with grins as they dragged Bobby off to find some cups.

"Logan." Xavier reprimanded the Canadian.

"What?" Logan asked, as he toyed with his uniform.

"You know what." Xavier said nodding toward the teens.

"Chuck, if they're old enough to fight and maybe even die for this world, then they're old enough to split a bottle of beer between the three of em before a fight ta the death." Wolverine said, as he opened a bottle for himself.

"I agree professor, if they do die tomorrow, let them enjoy this night." Storm said, as she plucked the bottle from Logan's hands. "Just as long as they keep all of their clothes on of course, they have a busy day tomorrow."

"Very well." Xavier said in defeat as he realized that both of them were not going to budge on this matter.

"Good," Wolverine said as he pulled out yet another bottle from the inside pocket of his jacket. "Sides, you really think the Popsicle has the guts to pull something like that off with Rogue? He tries anything and she'd drop him from fifty or so feet in the air." Wolverine said with an amused chuckle, Xavier and Storm soon joined him.

* * *

Harry stood next to Hagrid's bed, and watched the half-giant's chest rise and fall. Hagrid's injuries were going to take anywhere from several days to a few weeks to heal, Harry was unsure just exactly how quickly the Hogwarts Groundskeeper would heal up, since the only time he had ever seen his friend hurt had been after dealing with Grawp, and there had been no telling how old some of those injuries were at the time. Harry and the others had been informed of the plan, and while a number of the wounded would be leaving Harry and his friends would not, much to the irritation of some of the adults. Ron and Hermione were on the other side of the large man resting Ron with **Quidditch Through the Ages**, while Hermione was studying fire curses from some books. Various Weasley's had visited the group, and even McGonagall and Remus had stopped by to either try and console the three, or to try and convince them to take one of the portkeys back home with Madame Pompfrey.

The trio had so vehemently rejected each of the offers to send them home, which they had shocked, all but Moody who had watched with an amused grin at the group. When the three weren't watching their friend, they were out preparing Thanos. The trio with the oversight of McGonagall had managed to make a saddle with a holster for a large weapon on it and a few smaller blades on it for whoever felt they could chance riding the flying horse into battle.

"So, think we'll get through this one mate?" Ron asked over Hagrid's large form.

"We have to," Hermione said, "We still have to take on Voldemort."

"Yeah," Harry said, "I want a chance to deal with him." The trio was silent, as they held vigil over their friend.

"Odd group aren't they?" McGonagall asked Remus, as she sat down beside him and Tonks in the corner of the room and watched the three of them as they talked to Hagrid about various animals, or Hermione would find a particular spell, or the boys would discuss Quidditch with unresponsive man. The most heart wrenching though, was when they fell into silence and merely watched Hagrid breath in and out.

"Yes, but they are the best of the Wizard World." Remus said with a grin. "They may not have a lot of power, but they do have enough drive when they set their minds on something to do just about anything once they set their minds to doing it."

"Yes, and they are so different from each other, and yet the three of them compliment each other near perfectly most of the time." The Headmistress said with amazement, as she watched the three. "They are probably my favorite group of students to have ever taught."

Remus smiled at this. "Do I even want to know where the Marauders are even rated on that list of yours?"

McGonagall chuckled at this. "You are right, you don't want to know where you and your friends ranked."

"Yes Remus dear it's probably not something you want to know at all." A melodious voice said, it was a voice from Remus and McGonagall's past that neither of them had expected to ever hear again. The two of them looked over and saw that Lilly Evan's-Potter had joined their conversation.

"Do you want something?" Remus asked sadly, as he looked at the figure that was before him and his former teacher.

"Just thought I'd give you one more chance to walk away from this fight before you got really hurt werewolf." Remus flinched at the venom in the false Lily's voice as she called him a werewolf.

"Ignore her Remus." McGonagall said briskly as she conjured a teapot for the three of them.

Tonks meanwhile was looking unimpressed at the First despite the cold feeling in her gut she got just by looking and listening to it. "So you can impersonate dead people big deal I can, look like the living and the dead." The metamorphagus said, as she glared at the First in defiance before morphing into one of the potentials, then back into her own form.

"So much Fire in you." First/Lily said, as she stared at the shape changer before her, she leaned back against her chair and smirked. "It shall be so much fun destroying that last bit of fire in you and walking over your broken, lifeless body as I fully enter this dimension." The First then turned to look at McGonagall and Remus. "You're running out of time, better leave quick before I decide to turn you inside out." First/Lily said with a vicious smile.

"Now you've gone and made this personal." Remus said as he glared at the figure. "Now I definitely am going to do what I can to do all that I can to stop you."

"So be it little wolf, don't be upset with me if you can't take me on though." Firs/Lily said with a familiar all knowing smirk on her face before she disappeared.

"Blast it!" Remus growled, as he slammed his fist against the table rattling the teacups.

* * *

"This is crazy you know that right?" Dean asked his brother as he nursed a beer that he had managed to find, as he was calmly cleaning the shotguns. The guns had been pretty much over used after all of the creatures that they had been forced to fight against and needed a good cleaning. He looked over at Sam who was carefully sharpening their machetes, the rasping sound of the blades on the whetstones was actually comforting to him as he prepared himself for a long fight. Personally he wouldn't mind going to sleep with a girl on his arm who had just ridden the Dean express, but since most of the girls here could either break him in half, zap him, slice him, up or had some family member that would do it to him he was just going to have to be happy with the fact that he was on his own on this one with just a bottle of beer.

"Yeah Dean, I know, but this what we're here for. I can't imagine that we got sent a vision for no reason."

"Still you sure you want to come?" Dean asked him, "You could take the Impala and go find dad." The blonde tempted his younger brother. "I mean, we still have to find the demon that got mom."

"We'll find it after this is all over." Sam promised his brother. "And when we find it we'll kill it for mom. Together though, all right man."

"I still think that you should be part of the rear guard though," Dean said trying to convince his brother to step back a bit. "I mean you do still have to."

"Dean, dude, no, we do this together."

"Fine." Dean grumbled as he tossed himself onto his bed.

"So, this is what became of my boys s it?" A voice asked. The two turned and saw that the image of their mother Mary Winchester, one of the reasons that their family fought stood there before them. "You know, I had such high hopes for the two of you." The woman said, as she stared at the two of them sadly. "But instead you've both become so much like your father, dedicated to your mission and you've also become alone. The two of you are so much like your father when I first met him that it is no longer even amusing, and the traits you picked up may not be the best ones to have learned either. I suppose it is my fault in a way that you are like this though."

"Mom," the two brothers choked out, as the blonde woman looked them over judgingly.

"Yes its me." The figure said as she stared at the two of them. "Sammy, you could have been a fine lawyer if you had stayed in school, and Dean, you could have been anything that you wanted to be you didn't have to follow your dads descent into the world of darkness that your now in."

"Mom we have our own reasons for doing this," Dean said, "Besides, its not like you're really our mom now is it? I mean despite the fact that you are supposed to be this major evil creature thing you're nothing more than some ghost playing with faces right now." Dean flashed a cocky smirk at the image of his mother, which was seething at the remarks. "Gotta say for the right now you rate below a poltergeist when it comes to threat level right now."

"Really, is that what you think? I am so disappointed in you Dean." Mary Winchester said smiling cruelly, as Dean flinched. "If you really think that is all I am capable of, but then again you always were the one to try and talk your way out of a situation. You can't even stand to be away from your precious daddy for a while without going crazy, it makes me wonder how you managed all those hunts of your own that your always telling Sammy about."

"Really, you say you don't know?" Dean asked with a smirk though Sam could tell that it was forced.

"Yes you were never important enough for me to notice." The First drawled out at the young man. "We might talk gain Dean, I'm going to destroy that fighting spirit of yours though when I come through."

"Looking forward to you trying bitch." Dean said.

"What about you Sammy? Are you going to let him talk like that, or perhaps you need someone different?"

"No." Sam said hoarsely, as the image of the boy's mother shimmered and a blonde girl in a short nurse costume appeared before them. "Jess." Sam said thickly.

"Sam, get out of here." A suddenly serious Dean ordered his brother as he pulled out a gun and leveled it at the First.

"That's not going to help against me." The First said, "And I don't slow down just because there is salt and binding circles around, you'll need something a lot more powerful than that to harm me. I must admit though, I was surprised that they actually affected the Dementors, though I suppose that since they eat spirits that it makes a certain amount of sense that such things might affect them."

"Glad we impressed you, now how about you get the hell out of here." Dean said as he slid between his brother and the First/Jess.

"You see that's the problem Dean." Jess said shooting him a knowing smirk. "Hell is coming here."

"Not if I can help it." Dean said.

"That's just it Dean you can't." First/Jess said with a laugh. "Bye Sam I'll be seeing you boys real soon." Her hand trailed over herself sensually before she disappeared in a cloud of fire.

"NO!" Sam cried as he rushed forward hoping to stop the fires from consuming her this time. A snap of light and she was gone, and the two rattled brothers took cooling breaths.

"I don't care what that bitch says or is I am tearing her apart when I get my hands on her." Dean said as he slammed his fist into the wall.

"Agreed." Sam said stonily, the two then each turned away knowing that they couldn't afford to be weak right now.

* * *

Angel and Spike stood a silent vigil over their Slayer, neither of the two ensouled vampires had yet to acknowledge any of the Scoobies that were sitting in the room alongside them. Oz had pulled out his electric guitar and was softly strumming on it while Giles strummed on his acoustic; Xander and Anya were quietly talking in a corner, Faith with Robin sitting alongside her was in another nearby bed as the healing potions did their work on her arm. Willow and Kennedy sat at a table just talking, Riley was off to the side with his wife and was content to just hold her, and Dawn sat and listened to Oz and Giles as they played some unknown soothing tune for the group. This was the room that the First came into as they were all settling down. "Now this is sweet." The First said, as it used the form that all of the Scoobies were familiar with in some form or other. "All of the Scoobies in one room, why the only people I believe that we're missing are Wesley and Cordelia."

"So this is the First huh?" Xander asked, as for the first time he could now see the figure before him. Everyone turned to look worriedly at Buffy, but were relieved to see that the blonde slayer was asleep, they doubted that the Slayer could stand up to the form it was using right now. "Well I must say its intersting to see you for the First time." He cracked at her with as much of a grin as he could muster.

"Must you use that form?" Giles asked as he set his guitar down and began to clean his glasses. "I think we would all almost prefer it if you were to use Buffy's form as opposed to that one."

"Which is why I thought I could go for a little bit of a change, it helps keep the mind awake you know."

"Must you desecrate her memory?"

"There isn't a memory that I wouldn't desecrate if I could accomplish it actually." The First as Joyce Summer's said to the various Scoobies that looked up at her in a mixture of anger and hurt. "It is a shame that Buffy is asleep in a healing trance for this, it would be interesting to see what her reaction would be to seeing me here and being able to tell her what I really think of her being a Slayer." The First mused aloud at them.

"Yeah, I'm sure that she wants to hear a bloody poser rant and rave at her about those sorts of things." Spike said as he turned to the First.

The First chuckled at the tough act that the vampire was using. "I'm sorry Spike but I don't think I can offer you any hot chocolate to drink." Spike growled and actually bared his fangs at the First as it mocked one of the few mortals that Spike had actually liked. "Oh please, like that's really going to impress me. As for the rest of you I am afraid that I can't make any of you my chocolate chip pancakes." Xander, Oz and Dawn winced as they remembered the late night treats and meals that this woman used to make for the fighters once she had known what was going on.

"Riley who is this?" Sam Finn asked, as she looked at the woman who's cutting words seemed to slice right through the Scoobies past and present.

"Ah yes, Riley, the boy my daughter was actually to embarrassed to actually bring home with her." Joyce said looking sternly at Riley. "The same young man who forced my daughter to choose between him and her life while I was dying." Riley flinched at this, as Mrs. Summer's words cut into him just as deeply as they had the others. He also realized that he had been a bit shellfish at the time, but it had also been the right thing for him to do. Just because it was right though didn't mean that he didn't feel a certain amount of guilt over what had happened and how.

"Sam, meet the First who's currently posing as Buffy's mom." Riley told his wife tightly. Sam nodded, this woman had obviously been very important to all of the people in the room that had known her.

"Now this is different isn't it Faith?" Joyce/First asked as it knelt down by the bedridden Faith. "I believe the last time we saw each other I was the one stuck in the bed and you were trying on my makeup." Faith tried to pull back away from the figure that was before her. "What's the matter Faith you didn't worry to much about my touching you that Christmas it snowed and you stayed over for Christmas." Faith stopped moving and felt as if she had been slapped as she remembered one of the few good Christmases in her life. The memory was of course heavily marred by the memory of what she had done to Joyce the last time she had seen her.

"And of course there is you Angel the monster that my daughter should never have met." Joyce said, disapproval evident in her voice. I always did like Spike better. I thought our talk all those years ago would have convinced you to stay away from my daughter."

"What can I say, I'm slow learner." Angel said with a chuckle while Spike snickered.

"To right he is." Spike said, "The bloody idiot also never could take to following orders very well, and he just loves to find creative ways to interpret them when he does take them. By the way I just loved it when I got to see Joyce bring her claws out, let me see what it is that really brought the Slayer up into the firecracker that she is. And the fact that Joyce liked me more than Peaches has always been a bit of fun to me."

"You know, I never could figure out how that worked exactly." Angel said turning to Spike but still keeping one eye on the image of Joyce. "How is it that she liked you more than me? I mean the first time she saw you, you were attacking on parent teacher night and nearly killed her daughter."

"Maybe she didn't recognize me. We could always ask badass version of her." Spike said jerking his thumb over at the First.

"Well what do you have to say Evil Mrs. S? Why did the original Mrs. S, except no substitutes at all, like peroxide for brains more than Dead Boy? Inquiring minds really want to know the answer to this question."

First/Joyce seemed to be lost in thought for a moment before she began explaining to the group. "Spike here was willing to talk to me, that and he kept his vampiric attributes hidden from me. Oh yeah, and Spike there lied his way into my heart and Angel here emotionally destroyed my little girl, and by the time that I actually understood I was to poisoned to care. Oh yeah, and I also blamed him for Buffy running away instead of owning up to the fact that my precious Buffy was just as much to blame as he was. Puts a bit of a different spin on your whole saving mother thing that you got with this form doesn't it?"

"Ripper, Red you two sure you can't make her whole so I can knock her out?" Spike questioned Angel looked up hopefully at this.

"Sorry, not one of the tricks I really want to try, besides what happens if it comes back with all sorts of super powers? That is so not on my list of things that I want to try and fight right now, even with all of the various people from Buffy's family that we have here to back us up and all."

"Yes, what she said." Giles said nodding in agreement.

"Well perhaps you should all behave more." Joyce said sternly, as if she was scolding them for staying up late for watching movies. "Then again, if you consider what you did to my daughter earlier after everything that she sacrificed for you perhaps I should have kept her farther away from you since it seems like only true beings of darkness can understand her. It's a shame really, I never wanted this life for her yet she did it for you three most of all." Joyce said nodding to the core Scoobies. "The rest of the people here came and went, but you were as much a part of her as she was of you. Heart, Mind, Spirit and of course she is the Body and in the end it was you who told her to quit. I can't help but be amused that you actually managed to deny yourselves." The core group and the ones who had tossed the blonde out grimaced, knowing that there was more truth in this than they cared for.

"Of course why should you only here my thoughts? There are so many forms to use with you that you might listen to more." She then walked around the room changing forms every few minutes Xander swallowed as Jesse greeted him.

"Yo, my man what is up? "The dark haired teen asked. "I love the eye patch man. You two still taking care of each other?"

Riley nearly broke the table as the teen changed into an unaltered version of Ford, who then changed into Halfrek which caused Anya to squirm uncomfortably, then Tara causing Willow to gasp. "Hey there baby who's your friend?" The blonde vision asked with a trace of hurt, betrayal, and doubt in her voice.

Giles and Angel gritted their teeth as Tara then changed into Jenny. "Now this is a form I haven't used in a while." First/Jenny said as she spun a circle. "Just remember, that no matter what you've lost I can make it seem all that much worse, think of that before you try and continue this fight." She then disappeared in a flash of light.

"Okay, I think I could of lived without that." Xander said, as he stared unseeingly at the spot where Jesse had been a few minutes ago.

"Uh huh, yeppers, me to on that one." Willow said weakly as she slumped against her seat. The Scoobies all got silent as they thought about what they had seen.

"So how did Buffy not go crazy with always talking to well herself?" Dawn asked the others.

"She's made of tougher stuff than you give her credit for Little D." Faith told the young Summer's girl who glared at the hated nickname.

"Yeah, Buffy may play the part of the blonde idiot most of the time, but deep down she's one of the most dangerous around." Angel said fondly as he held the Slayer by the hand.

"Indeed Buffy is very unique in that way," Giles agreed, "and there may never be a way to truly explain how wonderful and powerful she truly is with all that she has done."

"In other words B kicks ass." Faith said smirking while she was sent a disapproving look from Giles who reluctantly nodded after a moment.

* * *

Buffy walked with a purpose and stood before her troops, the combination of healing potions and the Slayer healing package had her up and raring to go and take on the First. She looked at the various people and nodded her greetings as she passed them. About half of her people had been visited by the First last night, 'in some form or another', she had never realized what the true meaning of that saying could mean until this whole mess with the First had started. She had been getting a number of understanding looks, as nearly everyone now understood a little bit more of the stressful burden that she had been forced to carry alone. A number of them had now shaken confidence Harry had been muttering about some guy named Sirus, while Jack had been talking about a guy named Kawalsky and a kid named Charlie. She was sorry that they all had been forced to go through what they had. She had listened as Angel and Spike described what the First had done to the Scoobies, if anything that had pissed her off even more. Using her mother's face was so breaking the rules she was sure of it, and now she was going to break the rules herself if she had to. She looked up as the flying horse with leather wings set down and Wolverine got off of it. They were all ready and waiting, and Buffy realized with a start that they were all waiting for her to say something impressive to give them courage or something like that. Buffy swallowed nervously before she climbed up onto the hood of the General Lee, the Slayer then stood and faced the crowd before her. "Hey can anybody not hear me?" She asked curiously, as she looked at the crowd below her.

"Go ahead sweetheart." Dean said from where he was watching her. "You got my full attention right now."

"Dean are you nuts?" Sam asked his brother, as the blonde was given a dozen different protective and angry glares.

"Don't worry Sam." Dean said with a smirk while he leered at the Slayer. "Think of it this way, we're either going to be dead or celebrating at the end of the day so why not enjoy myself in between then?"

"Um because its insane." Sam retorted before turning back to the Slayer who had quickly regained her composure and was now turning to talk to them. She had donned another spare X-Man uniform, but had chosen to skip the leather jacket since she knew how hot she was going to get fighting in the Hellmouth leaving her in leather pants, equipment vest and a gray shirt.

Before the Slayer could start though several portkeys dropped off about fifty men and women. Multiple weapons were turned on the newcomers. "Old it, zat is my grandmuzzer!" Fleur said, as she stepped forward. I believe zat she az brought zhe reinforzmentz."

"Of course we ave Fleur. A beautiful older woman said. "We ave eard zat you were in danger fighting on zhe ellmouth wit zure future family and we zought to join you."

"Future family, am I missing something here?" Someone asked curiously.

Fleur turned to Hermione. "Zhe Weasley's consider you and Arry az good az family, which meanz zat we shall soon be family zo I thought zat zince zis is a family business of sorts."

"That you'd invite your family as well." Hermione said with a smile. "Are they all Veela?"

Fleur turned to her grandmother who nodded in the affirmative. "Zhey are."

"Great!" The girl said excitedly. "Um, can they change into their other form so they won't distract the guys." She asked, noticing that Arthur Weasley was quietly informing the Slayer of the abilities of the new arrivals who nodded in approval.

Fleur laughed as the group of veela changed before all of their eyes, becoming more birdlike before everyone's eyes. "All of zhe men, or are we just worried about one in particular?" The half Veela asked with a twinkle in her eyes, as Hermione blushed a deep red. "You are looking upon my family's Veela Elite. Zhe most skilled combat warriors our family can produce." Fleur proclaimed proudly. Everyone nodded in appreciation of the new arrivals, and then turned their attention back towards the blonde Slayer who was waiting on them patiently.

"Great to have you with us." Buffy greeted the Veela. "You couldn't have come at a better time." The Veela nodded back to the blonde in greeting.

"All right, I'm not the best person to give awe inspiring speeches that will give you the courage to do what it is that we are going to have to do. Hell, I don't think there's anybody really that's qualified for this particular kind of speech. You all know your jobs, and you know them well cause its in your blood. Look around you folks, and you'll find out that your not looking at just fighters, but at your family. By coming here you've shown that family means a lot to you. True some of you are here cause you didn't have a choice at first." She said nodding toward the potentials that were outfitted in uniforms and street clothes. "But a lot of you are here because its what we do. Now we're going to take that one step farther. Look around again at the people here, there is more than just your blood family out here today, for most of us are soul family is standing alongside us today as well. They're the people that we've learned to rely on in the past, and they'll be there with you today. While we may have all lost people from those families that mean a lot to us, we are going to win this fight for them and each other. We will show the First that we are the strongest there is out there, and that we are not letting anyone through to this world whether it be from above." She said as she pointed toward the sky, "below or somewhere in between. Anyone who doesn't think they can do it now though better get going, cause there may not be any town left when we get done with the bad guys."

"Lead the way Slayer, you know that I'm coming with ya." Spike said from beneath the hood of the cloak that he was using, the two vampires were both using thick cloaks that would allow them to walk briefly in the sun alongside everyone else.

"To battle then." Wolverine said as he jumped back up on the horse. "To Battle!" He repeated even louder while popping his claws over his head.

"To battle!" Several people cried pumping either their fists or weapons into the air.

The Slayer shook her head in disagreement. "For Family!" Buffy shouted back at the mutant who rolled his eyes at her.

"Family!!" Everyone now yelled, and pumped their arms even harder than before causing Wolverine to scowl at the blonde Slayer who just smirked at the mutant. The car she was on then played the first notes of Dixie and started to move forward followed by a half dozen other cars of various types. The cars all pulled up alongside the curb of the school allowing everyone to get out, or in Buffy's case to jump off the hood. They all stared silently at the school that housed the seal to the Hellmouth. In there was where they were going to make their stand for the world against all the forces of darkness.

* * *

Yeah sorry this chapter took so long but lack of ideas Deathly Hollows, my other stories sick family and visiting family have kept me occupied. Leave a review next chapter we have the final battle for Sunnyvale!

Small preview: "Oh yeah, and as for who we are." Phoebe said as she stared at the dark witch." We're the Charmed Ones and we stand against you, you B-witch. So lets rumble shall we?" The youngest of the three sisters said giving a saucy smirk towards Amy.


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer at end.

Yeah. Earth. It's a tough neighborhood **(Jake) Animorphs #6

* * *

**

The group nearly made it to the large rebuilt school when a large series of bangs exploded all over causing the group to stop and look as a heavy smoke screen began appearing. Storm raised her hands and made a gesture summoning a wind, and the thick smoke became light and they could all see that around 200 or 300 ninja were now standing between them and the school grounds. Wolverine got off the horse and handed it over to Charlie Weasley who held onto the reins of the creature. "Looks like this is where I part company with all of ya." Wolverine said, as he extended his claws.

"Not alone though lad." Conner said, as he Duncan and Methos joined the feral mutant. The three immortals shrugged off their trench coats, and stood alongside the mutant, their swords raised in anticipation as the others made their way on by the various Hand ninjas.

"Go on." Duncan ordered Ritchie, who looked like he wanted to object to leaving his friend behind. The young man nodded to his mentor though, and followed after the others as the ninja opened up to let them all past. Two of the Hand ninja moved though and blocked Faith from going any farther.

"You don't want to do that." Faith warned the two demon ninjas in front of her.

"Honor demands that we destroy you." One of them said to her in perfect English.

"Let her past Genin!" A voice commanded, and a man in a white suit that appeared to be in his thirties dropped to the ground and looked at the two Hand members. "This is a war for the First not for ourselves, besides this gaijin slayer walks toward her doom as it is." The two Hand warriors nodded and fell back allowing the dark haired slayer to walk past them and the rest of their clan.

"So, yer the new Jonin?" Wolverine asked as he looked at the man who stood proudly before them.

"Not quit gaijin, I have been a Jonin for some time, but I have been busy elsewhere but when word reached us that another Jonin had fallen they sent for me since I am one of the few Jonin that has survived any encounters with you although I can't exactly say much on that since you've been slicing bits of me away for years now.

"Eh, you probably deserved it." Methos said with a smirk.

"Aye, you talk a good game lad but lets see how ya do against us shall we?" Conner asked the Jonin as he trained his eyes on the figure.

"And who are you?" The jonnin asked with a sneer at the long haired man in front of him.

"I am Conner McLeod of Clan McLeod and I stand against ye."

"I am Duncan McLeod of Clan McLeod and I stand against you."

"And I am Methos, former member of the four horsemen, you may have known me as Death, and I'm here to fight you and your demon ninja as well. I must apologize for these two, they're a bit melodramatic at times when it comes to challenges and what not." Methos added with a smirk.

"Is there forever to be your way then Duncan?" A figure asked the youngest of the three Immortals, sighing in disappointment as it walked through the assembled ranks of the demon ninja.

"No," Duncan whispered hoarsely, as he saw an old friend before him.

"Hello Duncan." Darius imagr said as he pulled back the hood of his monk's robes. "It has been quiet a long time since we last saw each other hasn't it?"

Duncan's calm exterior shattered and he glared with fury at the First. "How dare you use Darius image like that!" The Highlander said with a cold fury that would freeze many a normal person in their tracks.

The First merely smirked at the Highlander though with a familiar all-knowing grin. "Just stand aside now Duncan, and let my Hand ninjas deal with the wild man that you seem so eager to fight alongside of."

"Stop using Darius to spread your darkness monster."

"Yes Duncan I am a monster, but remember you never met Darius until after he had gone through his infamous Light Quickening. Before that he was one of my greatest servants, a monster in his own right with many skills toward darkness. Angelus and the Darius of old might have gotten along extremely well if they didn't try and kill each other first of course. Instead they each went against people that they shouldn't have, and I lost some of my best warriors in the worst of ways to the Light. The only good thing about Darius Light quickening is that he didn't set out to make amends like Angel did. If that had happened, a number of the more vile Immortals would have been killed, most likely destroying even more of my troops before the final battle was at hand and I would have been unable to use any Immortals on the final battle. True this fight here is not the final battle, it is still a good training ground for the upcoming and rising talent."

"I know very well what kind of person Darius was back then he held very little back when it came to his past, but I shall not allow you to destroy the memory of what it is that he became." Duncan spat at the First.

"Duncan, control yerself." Conner ordered his kinsman in annoyance. "I need ye to be calm and in control of your thoughts and actions for the fight that is coming not acting like some untrained barbarian warrior that has no idea what it is that you are doing."

"I'll do my best." Duncan said still glaring at the First.

"And what of you Death? Are you truly going to stand against my armies and me? Or will you stand within my armies and reap the benefits of the battle for Sunneydale?" Darius asked curiously of the oldest of the Immortals. "You are a survivor Methos the best at saving your own head, and yet here you are preparing to do something that will ensure that you don't survive very long. You know that as well as I do that this battle is merely a technicality, a formality if you will. Eventually I will get the seal opened back up once more, and then I shall flood this world with my real vampires, and after this town I shall take over the world one little piece at a time, and then I shall take the Stargate and reawaken the Wraith and return control to the System Lords and they shall go forth in my name. None shall stand against me either Death. Think about it you could have anyone or anything that you ever wanted and all you would have to do is to serve me. Serving me is what a true survivor would do if he truly cared for his hide as much as you claim to care about yours."

Methos smiled a bit at this. "True, but you see, since I've gotten to know the Highlanders I've learned something, or maybe its that I've relearned something."

"And what might that be?"

Methos smirked at the First. "It's not something that you'll understand, no matter what body it is that you wear you'll never understand. With them I've learned that sometimes you simply have to do what's right. Unfortunately the right thing sometimes puts you up against odds that you don't want to face, but we'll have to see who lives and who dies. Shall we?"

"That we shall Methos." The First returned before it turned away from the small group of assembled warriors and turned to look at its warriors. "Hand warriors destroy them!" The Hand Clan members charged, ready to bring death to their enemies.

"Bout time." Wolverine said, as he swiped the air with his claws knocking back four arrows. "I thought it was all gonna be over by the time we finally got to it."

"It bought them some time against the First though didn't it?" Methos asked smugly, as he twirled his sword slicing through three more arrows.

Wolverine's reply was silenced as an animalistic roar came from his throat and he leaped toward the horde of incoming ninja ignoring the dangerous hail of arrows that was now coming toward him. The immortals all shared a look before they joined the feral mutant in his Light Brigade like charge. The four hit the center of the group, and hacking and slashing ensued from the various blades that were being used.

Conner slashed the stomach of one ninja, then spun to catch the arm of another ninja with a wicked looking dagger, while he skewered another ninja that was next to him, he then elbow slammed another in the face. He grimaced as he felt three different blades hit him, if his clothes had not been charmed earlier, he was sure that he would have been skewered a half dozen times, the only question he had currently was how long could this invincibility last.

Duncan was a swirling mass of anger as he fought through the forces that opposed him and his friends. He would make the First pay for the insult it had given to Darius memory on this day. These Hand warriors would pay for what their master had done on this day. He parried with a stolen katana, and sliced with his own, taking an arm off of an opponent, the hilt of a weapon struck him in the face staggering him back, allowing another to take a slice at his face blinding him in one eye, twirling he managed to force them back enough so that he could slice the heads off two ninja that were charging at him, he raised his sword to open another ninja up, when a chain came flying from the air and wrapped itself around his arm and pulled his arm and the sword in it away from another maiming strike. Swearing in German and Celtic, Duncan brought his sword down and broke the chain that had held him a moment ago; he was then treated to a pair of kicks that sent him flying back. The Immortal shook his head as his sight now returned to him as his injuries healed and waded back, in stabbing a ninja in the leg, releasing his hold on his borrowed sword, he snatched another weapon from his wounded adversary's hand. Ending up with a sai he threw the weapon, he hit another ninja in the face. 'Yes he would make them pay.' He thought, as he slashed at another.

Methos wondered if it wasn't to late to change his mind about what he wanted to do, it wouldn't take much, just step back and let the Hand have easy access to the others. He could say it was a bit of proof that he was his own being and that he Death would work with the First but not for it. 'If he was lucky he might not be killed for that type of action.' He thought, as he slit the throat of one of the ninja, it was tempting, but he was stronger than the darkness that was threatening to overtake him, he didn't understand it but he would not let his new darker urges rule him here. 'He was Methos and would help his friends or die trying.' He slashed a couple more opponents before he looked up a new fire in his eyes. 'Methos was gone, and he was Death! And Death bowed before no one!' He swiped his blade opening two warriors snatching up a spear he threw it into the crowd not even bothering to see if he had even hit anyone or anything. "It was time to show these weaklings why he was Death. He had killed entire city's with more effort he was sure.' He threw a handful of creatures back, not even noticing the energy that he was now releasing as he fought against his opponents. He picked up a fallen sword and looked up as the Hand warriors he had been facing regroup and came back at him, he let out a deadly smirk that would give most beings nightmares. 'He was going to enjoy this.' He thought, as the cold smirk became a savage smile as he rushed to meet the Hand.

Wolverine was lost in a red haze, there was no right, there was wrong there was just the enemy and the need to stop them. He was the most feared creature for a reason, and these beings wished to challenge that, he would gladly accept their challenge and if he failed he would be happy knowing that somewhere someone would probably say a payer for him even if he would prefer that they raise a glass in his name at a bar like he had done for so many others before him. He was the fighting Wolverine, and there was nothing more fearsome than the Wolverine, after all the Wolverine had more than once bitten the Hand that tried to dominate it. A spin kick here, a jab there, an uppercut with clawed fists went through another skull. He shredded ninja after ninja, adamantium laced bones punched through marrow before they moved onto another target, blades flashed as he tore through ancient ninja blades against his claws. He did a palm strike sending another Genin to his ancestors. A knee to the face of another broke the nose of another who while blind was impaled by thrown spear. Wolverine stopped his fighting to flash the watching Jonin a smile. "This all you got bub? Come on, I'm the best there is at what I do and what I do ain't pretty."

"Genin destroy him." The Jonin said with anger. "Destroy the Wolverine! Destroy his allies, and then when we are done we will destroy those inside that he has come to view as family the ghost child and the energy vampire shall die now as well."

"Shouldn't of said that bub." Wolverine said as he rushed forward again, if anything even more intent on cutting them all to bits. He wondered how many of these guys he would be able to take down before they forced him down.

* * *

The others all heard the sounds of combat but did nothing as their was little that they could do for their friends at this time the only way they could help the was to stop the First in time. "All right, everyone take your positions!" Jack ordered everyone. "I want all ways in and out covered! We don't want any of those bloodsuckers getting out! If you are a part of the throat team head down there and await for confirmation of lighting and blocking teams. If you're a part of the empowerment team find a room and get cracking on the voodoo that you do already for crying out loud! As for everybody else secure the area."

"You heard the big bad soldier." Xander said, as he ordered the young potentials to their own posts. "If you need to use the bathroom I suggest doing so now, if you don't think about what we're going to be facing and go again."

"Sound advice." Jack said nodding in agreement.

"That's Xander for you, crazy yet sound advice." Buffy said, as she watched people pull out the skylights and set C4 charges along the walls Faith and Charlie Weasley were helping Harry's death horse down toward the basement it was almost time for them to begin.

"Think you can handle being the rearguard?" She asked her great uncle curiously. She knew that she would hate being in charge of the third level of defense, but also knew that the man before her was probably one of the best people to command it as well.

"I'd rather be up on the front lines, but most of my people don't have the kind of training to deal with these things. As much as I hate to admit it, some of those little girls are better trained to deal with this stuff than we are."

"Yeah kind of depressing isn't it? You bring forth all of these manly soldiers, and in the end it has to be these little girls who should be out shopping at the mall or talking on the phone about the latest fashion who have to be the first line." The Slayer questioned her great uncle, as they watched people prepare themselves.

"Yeah it does, look there's nothing I can do about joining you down there until its to late, but all of us who are related to you did come up with this just a few moments ago." Jack said as a soldier stepped forward and produced a jar filled with blood. "I know that it may not work, but we'd rather you not go in there without all of your blood."

"Who donated?"

"Your family did. Everyone that received a letter gave a bit of blood for you; we figured it was the best way to do this. Of course relatives connected through them also donated but here ya go kid I hope it works."

Buffy nodded. "Dawn come here."

"Yeah what's up?" The tall brunette asked her older sister hesitantly.

Buffy smiled as she looked at the jar. "Dawn this is a jar of Summer's, McLeod, Duke, Haliwell, Kent, and Granger blood, but its missing two parts of its Summer's blood."

Dawn grinned and nodded as she pulled out a dagger from her hip sheath and drew it along her hand, hissing slightly as she felt the cut into her skin, she then held it over the opened jar while Buffy repeated the move letting several drops of blood fall in. Buffy then repeated it, and everyone covered his or her eyes as the jar of blood glowed for a moment.

"Okay that was a bit unexpected." Jack said. "Why did I push my shades up when I did?" He questioned, earning a couple of chuckles from various people.

"You do realize that is probably the most powerful combination of mystical and scientific blood seen in over a 500 years." Flitwick said, as he looked with interest at the container that held all of the blood in it. "Why it's probably more potent than Phoenix tears when it comes to healing or more deadly than Basilisk venom."

"Huh, who'd of thunk it," the Slayer said as she looked at the blood container, "and all we plan on do doing is using it to open the seal with."

"Yeah, well everyone better get into position. Its time to get this business taken care of. I am so tired of this bitch and just want to get it over with."

Everyone nodded and began to split up soon everyone was working preparing things leaving the core Scoobies alone with each other for the moment. The group looked at each other for a minute before they began deciding what it was that they wanted to do tomorrow. Giles listened as his students began talking about shoe shopping potential. "The world is doomed." Giles moaned with a sigh remembering a similar time nearly eight years ago when he had said the same thing as this trio of people had finally come together as a team for the first time.

Before anything else could be said a soldier cried out as he was flung across the room from a spell. They all turned to see who had cast the spell, and they all tightened their grips on their weapons as they saw the crimson eyes of Voldemort glowing from a shadowy corner. "Greetings Slayer." Voldemort said, as the Dark Wizard stepped out from the shadowed hallway the little light that there was reflected off of the scales of his skin.

"You must be the Lord of the Snakes the wizards have been telling us all about." The Slayer said in greeting to the wizard as she looked the thing in front of her up and down.

"That I am Slayer, it is almost a pity that I must kill you and your allies, some of you would have been extremely useful to me had you not decided not to join forces against the First. As it is though, I must now destroy you all."

"Uh huh." Buffy said looking unworried at Voldemort. "Have you ever considered using moisturizing cream? It would give your face a much more younger look, and what's the point of coming back from the dead if your going to like that?"

Several people snorted at this, as they kept their weapons steady on the wizard who glared at her angrily.

"Perhaps the world will not be at a loss if rabble like you are gone." Voldemort said with annoyance. "Bring me Potter and the rest of you shall go free."

"So not happening scale face." Prue said as she backed her cousin up.

"You really ought to see a Doctor about that red eye of yours you know?" Jack mocked, as he prepared to fill the wizard full of metal.

"Back off muggle." Voldemort said, waving his wand, and sent the Colonel flying into a wall of lockers.

"Ow." O'Neill said from the floor clutching his knee. "That hurts." The man said hissing in pain.

"Enough. We have not the time for this. Perhaps you would like to challenge me to a little fight while the others are busy here?" Storm said, as she looked toward the snake-faced man. "You are indeed powerful, but are you as powerful as one who can command the very weather itself?"

"Your challenge interest me," Voldemort said, as he stroked his wand and listened to the dark skinned woman with interest. "I have a proposal if you are interested."

"Inform me." Storm said coolly, not bothering to look or listen to the other various people, as she was already mentally preparing herself to battle this poor being that could only lash out at others.

Voldemort smiled coldly as he looked the woman over. "When I win our battle you serve me in whatever way I so desire for a year, if by some miracle you manage to win I take what is left of my forces and leave.

"Hardly a fair trade if I you think about it." Storm returned to the Dark Lord. "You withdraw from a fight, yet I must submit myself and become your slave for a year if I fail to stop you. I think you may have to sweeten the pot somewhat."

"Those are my terms white hair take them or leave them, and if you leave them I shall simply summon all of my remaining Death Eaters here, though weakened I can still summon a number of Death Eaters if I have to." Voldemort threatened the mutant woman.

"Very well, I shall agree to your terms, but I would prefer if this fight happened elsewhere. Perhaps outside?" Storm said not wanting anyone to be hurt if she had to cut loose against the dark wizard.

"How about the roof then?" Voldemort nodded in agreement, but for totally different reasons. While he didn't particularly care if he killed some of the other people in the hallways while they fought in their battle, he didn't want the light sided warriors to interfere in this battle either.

"Deal. I shall be there in moments." Storm informed him.

"I await you with pleasure my dear." Voldemort said, before popping away.

"You don't have to take him on alone." Kingsley Shakelbolt said as he prepared to side along the two of them to the roof. "The only person's to ever battle him all alone and survive the fight have been Dumbledore and Harry, and the kid got real lucky the last time he fought with him."

"Thank you for your concern but I believe it is something that I should do though." Storm told the Auror who grudgingly nodded. "Take us to the roof, but prepare yourself for a trap and leave as soon as you can." Kingsley looked like he wanted to object, but nodded in agreement as they disappeared.

Kingsley rolled out of the way upon their arrival, barely missing the blood-boiling hex aimed at him. Voldemort sneered at the Auror lackey of Dumbledore as the man disappeared with another large crack leaving just the two of them and the crashing sound of metal on metal and of fighting going on down below them. "So you are here." Voldemort said with a cruel grin.

"Did you doubt that I would come? Storm asked, as Voldemort adopted a dueler's stance.

"One never knows, let us see how you fight shall we? _Bombarda!_" He shouted, shooting a bludgeoning spell at her and knocking her off of the roof. The mutant woman summoned an updraft that pulled her back up into the air leaving her hovering a few feet above the ground she then shot back into the air and returned to facing Voldemort. "A most interesting display of your abilities, though I must admit that I have seen much more impressive displays than what you have shown me this day."

Voldemort chuckled at the attempt of an insult the woman made at him, as he watched her hovering above him. "So you wish to take our battle to the skies do you? I believe I can meet you in your wishes." Voldemort then rose silently in the air till he was level with Storm, he then sent a much more lethal spell at the mutant who shot up into the air and away from the angry looking purple bolt of magic that had come flying toward her she twirled in the air and saw Voldemort giving chase to her and sent a small lighting bolt from her hand toward the dark wizard and he agilely dodged the bolt before returning fire with a deadly crucio red curse that Storm whipped her head to the side barely missing being shot. Voldemort's hand shot and grabbed a falling lock of her hair. I shall enjoy this white hair. The Dark Lord said as he shot into the air after the mutant the two climbed higher till they were a couple hundred feet above the school and there would be no interference from any one else. The two flew in a tight circle watching each other as they tried to decide what would be the best way to stop their opponent. Voldemort sent the occasional curse toward the mutant who either dodged it or used a lighting bolt to counter the curse.

Storm's eyes practically glowed white as she manipulated the winds to carry her around dodging the various curses that her lighting bolts could not stop. Holding her hand up the woman sent a small burst of hail at the wizard, the hail was granted speed by a large gust of wind, and she watched emotionlessly as small pinpricks appeared on his arms where the ice shards had struck him.

Voldemort scowled, first blood had gone to the wind-rider, and while his scaly hide had reflected a part of the hail, a number of the ice shards had still slammed through his arm as if his body wasn't even armored with scales. He sent a cutting curse at the blasted woman and smiled as he saw a deep gash appear on the shoulder of her uniform and he thought he saw some blood as well. Smirking the dark lord pressed his attack with a couple of more spells, pain inducing spells to distract her, and memory charms to place her under his thrall. He growled in anger as she had a wind blast her far to the right. He sent a bone-breaking curse next though, and grinned savagely as it connected with her side. He zoomed in closer to now finish her off while she was hurt.

Storm bit her lip to hold back her scream as she felt the ribs on her right break Voldemort was closing in, it seemed as if he was done playing and was now intent on destroying her. She sent another hail blast at the dark wizard, but he merely laughed as he met it head on a silver shield with a snake on it appeared in front of him and blocked the attack. Shaking her head with a mixture of pain and disbelief Storm sent a large lighting bolt that hit Voldemort head on, she watched with relief as the stunned Dark Lord began to plummet to the ground. She then watched with horror as the Dark Wizard began to rise from his fall. Their were truly few beings that could stand up to one of her lighting bolts and continue fighting, this fight had just gotten worse it seemed. She hoped that the others would accomplish their goal, because she was quickly running out of ideas on how to stop the wizard.

Voldemort shook his head now angry; his robes billowed around him now slightly burnt because of the wind-rider. He was going to show her who it was that she was dealing with, waving his wand a swarm of ravens appeared out of the air and rushed toward the woman with the intent on bringing her down from her beloved skies." Let us see how you deal with those born to the skies Wind-Rider!" He roared over a howling wind, as his birds began flying toward the mutant.

Storm's eyes widened as she saw the group of birds and began fleeing from the creatures, since she had no wish to do harm to the creatures but she was not going to allow them to hurt her either. She went through a handful of maneuvers that quickly left the birds trailing behind her. The mutant took the momentary breather to summon more clouds for cover, so that she could check her injuries from the fight. So far she had her broken ribs on one side and a cut on her shoulder that was bleeding heavily. She summoned an artic blast that froze the wound over, mentally thanking the Bright Lady that her powers left her immune to the changes in the weather. She would have done more but that was all she had time for as several boulders flew through her cloud cover. Voldemort had found her, and was attacking once again by conjuring large boulders and sending them flying toward her like giant cannonballs. She dived to the ground and came up under Voldemort who was conjuring more weapons to throw at the mutant.

Voldemort growled as he created nets with barbs on them and flung them at the wind rider, he hadn't been pushed against an opponent like this since his brief duel against Dumbledore, although Amelia Bones had admittedly given him some trouble at the time of her death. Of course perhaps that was the difference, he wanted this particular woman alive with the power to control her at his hands he would then be able to force small outposts of resistance to their knees by merely ordering her to send her weather abilities against them. Voldemort's thoughts were interrupted as one of his nets came back at him even faster than he had sent it and wrapped around him for a moment before it burned away from him.

Storm sighed as she dodged two more boulders and a couple of spells as she sent another heavy lighting bolt that caught Voldemort unawares. The bolt knocked Voldemort back again; the Wizard had obviously not been prepared for the bolt this time either as he fell another fifty feet before he punched back into the air. The wizard's red eyes were practically glowing as he moved faster than the mutant had suspected him to be able to and came up around behind her, he then shot a purple colored spell that hit her this time and several large cuts appeared on the back of her uniform also destroying her cape.

Storm made a new updraft that barely saved her from connecting with the building after a heavy fall. The mutant stumbled for a moment as she landed on what was probably the tallest building in Sunneydale. She looked up into the sky and saw a small black speck in the sky that could only be Voldemort waiting for her to return to the fight. She removed the now ruined cape and jacket that she saw no point in wearing, she looked herself up and down and saw that a number of slices now were on her pants as well. At the rate this was going she would soon be without any uniform at all she thought grimly, she then rocketed back into the air to fight against the dark wizard.

Voldemort laughed as he watched the woman heading for him once again. He had to admit the woman had resolve, he thought as he sent a couple of imperios but was unsurprised when she deftly dodged them from the distance that they were at. She shot by him doing a corkscrew maneuver, her electrical charged fists slammed into Voldemort stunning him with their power as she moved past him climbing and gaining speed.

Storm spun around and saw that Voldemort was once again preparing to attack her. She kept herself in as straight a line as she dared, dodging the spells, occasionally returning fire with her lighting bolts, which crashed against the spells. She thought that he was far enough away that she wouldn't be to affected by what she was going to try next. She dove and began making circles around where Voldemort was, the Dark Lord hovered where he was laughing and taking potshots at the mutant woman. One of the cutting curses caught on one of the straps of her shirt, but she continued ignoring the pain from the new cut she had just received. Storms eyes narrowed she had to remain focused on what she was doing, since she was distracted from her pain it required careful attention or she could lose control of what she was about to do and kill everyone in Sunneydale. A tornado finally began forming with Voldemort in the middle, the Dark Lord finally realized what he had been tricked into doing, since the tornado began flinging him around and around. Storm sighed with relief as she watched as the tornado flung the Dark Lord Voldemort around as if he was nothing; the trees and cars that had been picked up along with everything else were battering his form. She finally cancelled the small tornado and floated Voldemort toward her, she sighed with relief as the two of them landed, the fight had been hard and her tornado seemed to have been the only thing to have even stopped the Dark Wizard. She knelt down beside the wizard checking him for his wand when she saw a red beam come flying from the Dark Lords hand where he had been hiding his wand up his sleeve. The crucio spell hit, and the exhausted mutant screamed in agony as the spell went through her firing up all of her nerves at ones. A moment later the spell stopped as Voldemort held Storm up by her throat cutting off her air, and all she could do was feebly try and pull the vice like grip off her throat.

Voldemort grinned as he now held the beaten, battered and helpless mutant in his hand. Bouncing charms had helped against the small tornado he had been subjected to, and a bubblehead charm had allowed him to continue to breathe while he had been caught within the tornado. "You have lost Wind-Rider." Voldemort said with a grin, as he held the woman in victory with one hand while he cast the Dark Mark with his wand.

* * *

Buffy walked down the steps and finally entered the basement she picked up the jar and tossed it at the seal the jar shattered and blood ran out and covered the seal it shown for a moment and then opened. "Lets go." The Slayer said gesturing to her people Faith led the way while Buffy sent a knowing look at Angel who was standing there solemnly next to Bra'Tac, Moody and Oz. "Stay up here, if we can't stop them then you'll have to stop them." She told them.

"We'll be ready to pinch hit for you." Angel said nodding to her.

"Why do guys always have to use sports metaphors?" The Slayer asked scrunching her nose up in confusion.

Angel smiled slightly. "Would you prefer if I said that we would take them to the mattresses?"

"Godfather quotes I could live without as well." Buffy said with a smile as she hugged him tightly. "Whatever happened to a good old be careful or good luck?" She teased him with a smile that actually reached her eyes.

"Would you prefer it if I did?" The vampire asked her, as he looked her in the eyes.

"No, I still kind of like the whole brooding vampire thing you got going." She joked, before she turned serious. "Did Faith give you enough extra juice to work with when you two were fighting in L.A?"

"Yeah, even if it was tainted." Angel said nodding as he remembered feeding off of her it was fortunate for all of them that she had acted when and how she had.

"Here you go then add a bit of Buffy in with that." The Slayer said, as she offered a vial to the vampire. "And before you ask, yes Spike got one as well." Angel looked at the vial for a moment uncertainly. "Do I have to force this bit of blood down your throat as well?" She queried, giving him a menacing glare.

Angel took the vial and drank, not wanting her to knock his head off just to get him to drink.

"See, that wasn't so hard." The Slayer said happily as if it was as simple as taking bad tasting medicine. Buffy traced his game face for a moment before she hugged him one more time then headed down into Hell-Throat.

"Be careful." The ensouled vampire muttered so softly that only Oz was able to hear him. The werewolf patted the vampire on the shoulder before he took his position. The Winchester brothers joined them as they finished making their binding circle the time of the battle was now they guessed as they watched a handful of other people join the Slayers and Potentials.

* * *

Charles Xavier sighed as he concentrated with his powers; his job was to keep everyone mentally connected in their various fights and give them an edge. He could feel Storm on the very edge of his consciousness as he tracked all of the various minds, giving all of the many fighters a moment or twos worth of warning as they moved amongst their enemies in their various dances of life and death. He looked from Methos sight and warned the McLeod's of an attacking group of ninja that were about to drop on them. He switched views to the Hellmouth and advised Rogue to adjust her aim so that she would not be throwing her stalactites into the Veela's field of fire. One on one he could do this sort of thing with an ease that was almost disturbing, but he was currently doing it to nearly a hundred people, and he was doing it without the aide of cerebro this time around. He had never affected so many people at one time on his own and the strain was nearly more than he could bear. It was a lot different than when he simply made everyone stand still at the food court that Bobby, Jonathan and Marie had snuck off to that one time. He had to be careful not only for himself but for all of the people he was connected to, he didn't want the thoughts and actions of Wolverine to spill over to Clark Kent. He sent a mixed team of soldiers and wizards to assist Willow and the Charmed ones before he began flipping through the perspectives of the various other people that he was accessing again. He supposed that in a way that it was a lot like flipping through the channels of a TV or something similar as he viewed what people were experiencing. A part of him wished there were less people and that wish was granted as four people died and he had slightly more power to watch over his charges. Xavier focused harder he had to make sure that something like that didn't happen again if they were all to survive.

* * *

Buffy stood tall over her small army Spike and the Duke boys were in the back preparing a number of dynamite arrows, Nightcrawler from the X-Men was teleporting and wall crawling about two hundred feet below them setting up C4, the other X-Men were preparing themselves everyone else was getting into position or making some last moment joke before it was show time. Buffy frowned as she looked at the large army below them, even with their numbers there was no way that she could see that she was actually going to be able to lead them into any type of victory. 'Unless it was considered as a victory to put a dent in their forces.' She thought sadly.

"Say darlin, how long do you think that we'll last?" Bo Duke asked the Slayer.

"I don't know, but I sure hope we hurt them." Buffy answered her cousin truthfully.

"Amen to that." Luke Duke said. "I just wish we could have used the General down here, but there's no way that fighting with her would be of any help."

"Yeah, who knows though, we may use it yet though." The Slayer said with a reassuring grin.

"Yeah." They all stood silently. Rogue hovered in the air near the stalactites hanging from the ceiling, on a tiny ledge Clark Kent stood ready to begin blasting, Charlie Weasley circled nearby on the threstal nearby the Veela were preparing themselves, it was now a waiting game as they prepared themselves.

"Everybody stay near the ground until its time." Cyclops ordered everyone. "They may not notice us if they can't see us, and it might buy us the time that we need until the Wicca's can do their part." The others all nodded and crouched down low waiting for the power to fill them.

"Crap." The Slayer muttered, as the Vampires looked up and saw them and let out a roar.

"Here they come!" One of the soldiers said worriedly as they began charging up the slope at the force that was invading their turf.

"Laser guns first." The blonde ordered, as a dozen soldiers lead by Teal'c and the two jaffa warriors aimed their staff weapons down into the pit.

"Warriors take your fire zones." The soldiers adjusted their aim, not panicking as the horde of vampires made their way closer and closer. "Taur'i fire! Jaffa Kree!" The big warrior ordered and the weapons began to spew their golden energy into the ranks heading their way.

"Get ready." The Slayer shouted to a soldier over the rumble of the oncoming horde, as a few vampires lit on fire but the staff weapons couldn't cause the kind of damage that the military had secretly been hoping for. "Now!"

"Fire in the hole." The soldier said, as he pushed on a button in his hand and a series of explosions sent the vampire horde hurtling back amid several clouds of fire destroying around two-hundred vamps and wounding another hundred. A small cheer went up as the first assault was turned back without the loss of a single person yet.

The vampires regrouped though as if nothing had happened and made another charge at them. Buffy sighed as she looked at Cyclops and nodded. "All long distance fighters front and center!" The mutant called out, and was joined by a handful of wizards, his brother, Ice Man, Clark Kent stood ready where he was and the Veela took to the air flying in a circle. "Blast them!" Cyclops ordered all of them.

Iceman struck first, freezing the ground that the Uber vampires were charging up, making the hard, hot rocky ground icy and slick. Charlie Weasley and the Veela went charging above the vampires making strafing runs that blasted the super vamps while the other wizards joined in by sending fire spells, cutting hexes and reducto spells into the ranks of the vampires. Molly Weasley and Minerva McGonagall conjured several gallons of grease and dropped it on the vampires who were quickly lit up like small torches, while Cyclops and Havoc joined in on the assault creating holes in the forces that were almost immediately filled with more vampires.

Clark Kent watched from his own position above everyone and activated his heat vision, while Rogue was busy tearing stalactites out and throwing them into the crowd of vampires impaling and crushing them with her earthen missiles. "There's to many of em!" Rogue shouted over her shoulder to her support as he sent another heat wave into the vampire ranks. "How are we gonna stop all of em?"

"I don't know!" Clark said, as he blasted another dozen, it seem that for every one of them that he incinerated though 20 more took their place, and they kept coming like something out of a bad horror movie where the monsters just kept coming no matter how many times that you shot into them.

* * *

Willow looked hesitantly at the Scythe that lay in her hands. "Are you sure that none of you want to do this?" The redhead asked the three sisters hopefully. "I mean you're the Charmed Ones, you so got the power o do this, and we won't have to worry about me going all veiny either." She added as if just now realizing that as an added bonus.

Prue shook her head as she leaned against the teacher's desk in the room. "We already discussed this Willow, wand magic might not work on this thing, and you have the most experience in Wicca styled magic, which is why we'll be here to back you up in case you need our help."

"But."

"Sorry girl, but you might as well accept that when Prue gets in these kinds of moods she's not asking for your opinion really she's just telling you how its going to be." Phoebe said with a smirk ignoring the scowl that her sister was sending her.

"Yeah, but I don't think I can do this. I mean powerful magic's like this are a serious no, no for me you know. Complete with capital letters and exclamation points even, yeah exclamation points are there as well lots of them." The redhead said nodding her head furiously as she told the three sisters her reasoning, hoping that they would listen to what she was saying.

"Sorry Willow, but this is your part, we'll lend you some power if you need it, but your going to have to be the one to do the spell. You're the one with the experience of handling powerful spells not us." Piper patiently explained to the other witch. "That means that this has to be all your show, we can give you some power if you really need it, but otherwise you're the one with the best chance of pulling this trick off."

"Yippee." Willow said uncertainly and unenthusiastically, as she sat down and placed the scythe in her hands so that she could begin her spell. "Ready to kill me if I get out of control?" She asked Kennedy who was sitting across from her with a large dagger in her lap.

"Fixing to." The teen said uncomfortably as she twirled the dagger around in her hands. Willow smiled weakly at this before she began to work her spell.

Phoebe grunted as she had a vision as she brushed up against the door. "Do the spell work over there." The youngest of the sisters said. "Where the door won't hit you went it gets blown."

The three sisters watched as the witch began muttering her spell but were distracted as a small tornado slipped into the room blowing the door off of its hinges. "Great. What do you think this is Phoebes?"

Before the seer could answer the tornado died and a pale skinned witch with black hair and eyes was standing where the tornado had been. "Do I still need to answer your question?" Phoebe asked as she eyed the dark witch cautiously.

"No I suppose not."

Four people followed the witch into the room two of them were soldiers and two of them were wand wizards, the wizards shot a pair of red beams at Amy who merely conjured a pair of birds to intercept the deadly reducto beams of light. The soldiers knelt on their knees and fired at the witch with their P90's. They all watched in shock as the bullets bounced off an invisible shield of some kind.

Amy scowled at the group and began muttering and one of the soldiers rose up in the air and started screaming as lighting bolts removed the man's clothes and skin in a matter of moments leaving a burnt dead figure to collapse to the floor. The other three men shook their heads for a moment before they increased their rate of fire. The soldier that was left pulled out a shotgun and began firing into the shield, and the two wizards seemed to be using stronger and more deadly spells, they all merely bounced off the shield that Amy had set up. With another wave of her hand the dark witch sent an artic blast at one of the wizards who froze and died of frostbite and being turned into ice in a matter of moments.

"Don't you guys get the message yet?" Amy asked the soldier and wizard as they continued to fire at her. "You know what? I don't have time for this." She waved her hand a final time, and the two men seemingly disappeared leaving all of their clothes and equipment behind them. The sisters noticed that there was a rat crawling out of the sleeves of the wizard's robes and another one out of the combat fatigues though.

"Now then, let me through." Amy's voice echoed throughout the room. "I don't want you, I want Willow. Leave her to me and I might not kill you three. Get in my way though, well you've seen what happens to people that get in my way." She said, as she threw a bolt of magic into the ice statue making it blow up.

"Yeah, well sorry about that, but I'm afraid that we're going to have to take a pass on that one." Phoebe said, "we kind of need her alive for the moment, and I guess that means we have to fight against you."

"You would dare stand against me and all of my power?" Amy asked in angry surprise.

"Yes we would." Prue said sternly crossing her arms as she faced off with the dark witch.

"Who do you think you are that you can dare stand against me? With the help from the First I'm one of the most powerful witches in History, and you wanna rumble with me?"

"Yeah we do." Piper said, as she joined her sisters.

"Oh yeah, and as for who we are." Phoebe said as she stared at the dark witch." We're the Charmed Ones and we stand against you, you B-witch. So lets rumble shall we?" The youngest of the three sisters said giving a saucy smirk towards Amy.

"Lets." The witch growled she raised her hand and shot a lighting bolt at Phoebe the young woman watched as the spell raced toward her and stopped an inch a way from her face frozen in time.

"Want to time that a little closer next time?" Phoebe asked sarcastically as she stepped to the side of the spell.

"Sorry," Piper said wincing a bit as time restarted and the spell flew past Phoebe and slammed into the wall causing dust to rise. Using the dust as cover Phoebe made her move and pulled out a slowing down potion the potion struck Amy and her eyes widened in shock as her movements became sluggish.

"Lets rock." Phoebe said with a smile. Phoebe rushed forward and planted a punch comb on Amy before she was knocked back by a simple wave of Amy's hand. Prue attacked next by sending a pair of student desks flying at the dark witch. Amy smirked at this and raised both her hands over her head and blasted the desks away with what looked like lighting bolts. The bits of burned wood and metal blasted back at Prue, only to freeze in midair as Piper froze the room. Thinking quickly, Prue summoned the teacher's desk she had been sitting on earlier to rest between them and all of the flying desk pieces. Piper then reluctantly restarted time in the room again and winced as she heard everything slamming into the desk.

"Anyone else get the feeling that this isn't working?" Piper asked her sisters.

"Doesn't matter, we have to buy Willow the time that she needs to do the spell." Prue said, as she sent a couple of chairs flying toward Amy who batted them aside effortlessly. Prue was forced on the defensive though, when Amy jerked a flagpole from where it was leaning against the wall and sent it flying at the oldest sister. Prue altered its course enough so that instead of impaling her it flew over her shoulder and impaled itself in the wall over Willow's head.

"No offense and all Prue, but you saw what she did to those soldier boys." Piper said motioning to the bloody remains of one soldier and the pile of clothes the other had left. "Do you really think that we can stop her?"

"How about we discuss the merits of fighting a super powered witch later huh?" Phoebe asked her sisters.

"Because that would require that we actually live through this!" Piper snapped scowling at her sister.

"You think your going to survive this?" Amy asked with a smirk aimed at Prue and Phoebe. "How stupid are you two anyways?"

"Not half as stupid as you look with that wannabe Goth look you got going." Phoebe answered her.

Amy scowled and blasted the large desk Prue had been maneuvering around to block attacks with. The witch's hair was now floating about, and energy crackled throughout her body as she connected with more and more magical energy.

Prue scowled at the huge display of power and waved her hand and Amy flew through the broken doorway as if a giant hand had swatted her. "Come on," she said, "the farther away from Willow she is the better. Kennedy you know your job."

"Yeah fine." Kennedy said distractedly, as she watched her girlfriend with worry.

"Come on then." Phoebe said, gesturing toward the door as she grabbed her bag filled with a handful of potions that they might need, and the metal legs from one of the desks.

"Oh and Phoebe."

"Yeah Piper?"

"Don't give out fashion advice to people that can kill you with a wave of their hands anymore please. I kind of like to believe that we might survive this mess." Piper pleaded with her younger sister.

"I don't know, it was kind of funny to see her reaction." Prue said impishly. "Come on."

"Uh huh funny." Piper said in a tired voice as she followed after her sisters. "Why couldn't I just have a sane sister?" She grumbled to herself. "No, that's to much to ask for, instead I get two insane sisters instead."

The three sisters ran out the door and were nearly blasted back into the room as a green bolt whizzed over their heads. The sisters looked at Amy who was scowling at them with contempt, a small trickle of blood came from a split lip.

Waving her hand Amy summoned the two rats from the other room to her, and muttered something at the two creatures. The two suddenly began to grow in a few moments the two rats were the size of Great Danes. With another wave of Amy's hand the scared looking rats/men eyes began to glow red with some unknown power, they then changed to pitch black as Amy reprogrammed her two pets minds. "Sic em." Amy told the giant rats with a smirk. "Leave the one in the lead for me though." Amy said with a cruel cackle.

Phoebe used the legs from the desk to keep the giant rats away by swinging them at the rats, as they herded her and Piper away from Prue. "So, any ideas on how to charm these guys?" She asked as her rat snapped its dagger like teeth at her.

"You're asking me?"

"Hey, you're the one that dates Warlocks, I figured you might know a way to make them like you for a bit or is it the perfume you wear on dates maybe? I always thought it smelled rather strange myself."

"Hey, my perfume smells just fine, and I don't recall its smell stopping you when you decided to use it last month to go on a date." Piper snapped.

"Oh yeah. You noticed that did you?"

"Yes I noticed that, also you do realize that Warlocks just want me dead and that I'm just desperate enough for a guy to fall for their tricks right?" The rats snarled at the two cutting off whatever remark that Phoebe might have made. "Besides, Leo likes it." Phoebe tried to hit her rat, but the rat managed to catch the weapon in its mouth and jerk it away from her and then used its tail as a whip to make her squeal in fear.

"Okay, so not the way I thought that would work out." Phoebe said.

"Hey I have an idea, how about we just make a run for it?" Piper asked hopefully.

"And leave Prue to fight with super witch?" Phoebe asked her older sister. "Come on, you know as well as I do that Prue won't back down from her now not after all the insults and fighting they've already done."

"Phoebe, she's to strong for us to fight. Face it Phoebes we're going to be lucky to survive our fight with her at this rate."

"Yeah, well I can't do that. No matter how big of a pain Prue can be I have to save her." Phoebe answered. She reached into her bag and pulled out a potion and tossed it at the two giant rats. "Hey, it's working!" She said excitedly, as she watched the two possessed rats/men return to normal rat size.

"And you couldn't have done that earlier?"

"Hey, I forgot I had that one in there."

"Well do you have a potion that will stop that witch?"

"I don't think so, I mainly only have basic potions and she seems to burn through those pretty fast."

"Well let's hope that those will be enough, come on lets go help Prue before something bad happens."

"Sounds like a plan." Phoebe said, grabbing the rats and placing them in her jacket pocket before they raced back down the hallway. The two ran around the corner and found the two witches in a battle of wills. Prue was covered with small nicks and cuts all over her arms and a couple on her face from where the Bringer Dagger that was hovering between the two of them had nearly hit her. The Dagger wobbled back and forth as the two witches pushed against the hold that the other one held on the dagger. The ground between the two of them was littered with melted locker doors and burn marks from Amy's spell bolts that Prue had blocked or redirected.

"Well this can't get any worse." Piper griped as the two watched the knife move back and forth.

"You think so do you?" Amy asked raising her hand in the air. "You think that I'm not powerful enough to take you all on? Don't make me laugh. You think that your parlor tricks are something? Please, I am **Power!**"The angry young woman said before she opened her hand. Phoebe tackled Piper to the ground as a stream of what looked like fire erupted from the dark witch's hand.

"Nice one." Piper complimented.

"Thanks.".

"You may have saved your sister from the hellfire but can you save big sister as well?" Amy asked with interest as she caught the Bringer's dagger up in her mind and gave a tremendous push.

The sisters watched as the dagger froze an inch a way from Prue's eye making the witch jerk back at how close the blade had come.

Prue then summoned a metal pipe and held it up to block the dagger. "Go." Prue ordered her sister, who nodded and restarted time and the other two sisters watched anxiously as Prue blocked the dagger and sent it flying out a window. Prue then took advantage of Amy's surprise by sending the witch flying with a thrust of her hand and Phoebe did a round house kick as the dark witch came flying toward her knocking her back the way that she had been coming from and into the wall of lockers.

Amy staggered for a moment before she seemed to shake off the effects of the blows and she returned to her deadly beautiful self without a mark on her. "You know, as amusing as this is I do have other things to do than play with you so I think its actually time to finish you off." The witch shot four small balls of lighting at the walls floor and ceiling one each connected with their area. The lighting balls then began to crackle with even more energy as they then shot bolts of lighting at each other connecting to each other. "You remember what I did to that one guy right?"

"Which one?" Piper asked nervously as she watched the lighting bolts.

"The one I burned and skinned of course. Fortunately for him he and his friends just annoyed me, but you three. Well let's just say that I think I'm going to make your deaths a whole lot slower than his."

"Thanks I think." Phoebe said a bit disgruntled about how easily they had been captured by the witch who was now standing there with a smirk watching as they were about to be barbecued by her lighting bolts

* * *

.

"Come on now my man show me what you got!" Ritchie taunted, as he parried one of the blades that a Bringer was using and delivered a quick punch to its gut before it could pull back.

"Yes darling surely you can show us what you have." Amanda said, as she skewered another one of the First's worshipers and the backhanded another one of them. Joe Dawson and the Kent's stood their ground with their guns and were unloading into the group of cultist that were pushing their little group back.

Ritchie ducked a slash from a Bringer and brought his elbow up into the face of the eyeless wonder He had to wonder if this is what it was like for Mac all of those years ago when he was fighting in the various wars throughout the last 400 odd years. He skewered another as the eye-patch guy and the sister were being teamed up on by three more of the crazies. Not even really hesitating, the young Immortal jumped into the group that was cornering them knocking one away with a good kick while he used the guard of his sword to bash another of them in the face while the mortals killed the third one and then moved onto the other two.

"So tell me." Ritchie found himself asking between panting for breath. "How long does it take to get a little bit comfortable in this kind of mess?"

"Almost never." Xander answered grimly as he kept the Dawnster on his blind side, trusting in the younger Summer's sister to guard his back if something were to come at them from that side.

"I was afraid you were going to say that." Ritchie said grimly before he rushed back into the fight. Xander nodded as he stayed where he was hoping that they would all live long enough to see this war through.

* * *

Wolverine was looking for the others he had entered this fight with, but he couldn't see anyone and he was currently too busy to spend more than a moment to look. Despite his best efforts he was slowly being pushed back into a corner, soon he wouldn't even have the room to move and then the archers that were standing silent vigil across the street would probably use him as target practice. Snarling, Wolverine plunged a claw into the gut of another Ninja and backhanded another with his claws extended ripping through the guy's head.

Conner panted, he was guarding the stairway into the school along side his Clansman none would pass them as long as they stood here. They were ripping any who came to close to them to shreds, sometimes landing normal killing blows, or sometimes they would remove the head or limbs Methos had long since disappeared from view but deep in the shadows he heard the clash of steel and the angry roars of the old man as he sliced through as many members of the Hand as he could. He blocked one sword coming at him and kicked out knocking the Ninja back before he used his other sword to skewer another ninja in the eye socket killing the ninja who disappeared in a cloud of smoke and dust. "How much longer do you think that you can last?"

"Not much more Duncan, not much more." Conner said grimly, as he struggled to stay standing as he battered a couple of swords away from him. He watched with a sense of failure as he saw a troop of Bringers make their way into the school through some of the side doors his moment of distraction gave the Hand ninja the opening that they needed to bring the older Highlander to his knees. "Move Duncan." He ordered, turning to see that four or five members of the Hand were holding his clansman. He groaned weakly as he felt a steel blade puncture his heart. He realized then that he had failed in not only protecting the descendants of his godchild, but he had also failed the world.

* * *

"Iceman down!" Shadowcat said tackling the ice mutant as a spear sail through their shoulders.

Bobby coughed for a moment having lost his focus on the ground below them. "Starting to get closer aren't they?" He asked her fearfully.

"Yeah." The mutant ninja teen said as she picked up her dropped staff.

Bobby got up and iced his hands up, he looked over the lip of the ledge his ice ground had already melted under the heat besides, he wasn't sure if it was safe to keep doing that if they were going to take pot shots at him while he was to focused to do anything else. He began to use his ice blasts to freeze the legs of the lead vampires in ice and to cast his ice blasts at the flying weapons weighing them down so that they fell down to the ground. He stopped for a moment and looked up into the air and met Rogues eyes. Rogue gave him a strained smile and blew him a kiss. Bobby smiled grimly and made a misty heart appear for a moment before the two returned to their duties.

Cyclops stood watch the tactical training that he had over the years was coming in handy as small ideas and plans were being sent to Buffy via the psychic link that they all had going at the moment thanks to the professor. Cyclops and having raked the area with their energy blasts slicing into the approaching arm despite all of that though they didn't seem to be making any real damage to the forces arrayed against them despite the fact that he was pretty sure that they had destroyed something close to 2000 vampires they still kept coming like they were not even bothered by the losses. Unfortunately the groups were going to be coming into contact with each other soon if they didn't find a way to push them back again. _'Pyro would have been a great help at this part of the fight.'_ He thought to himself bitterly.

"Archers fire!" Buffy yelled, and a number of the potentials pulled out crossbows from behind their backs and began to fire into the vampires taking a few more out. Scott was startled, as he actually recognized the basic design of the weapons. They were Chinese repeating crossbows, carried six or seven bolts in them, and they were good for siege work if he remembered correctly. But how had they managed to get their hands on that many of them? He didn't recall them being mentioned earlier when he and some of the others had gone over the inventory list. He blasted again before he stole another glance at the crossbows. The wood was fresh as if the weapons had just been made, but it would have taken someone with more speed than he could think of to make two or three-dozen crossbows with bolts, which meant either the wizards or Clark had helped them in the making of the weapons.

The potentials dropped the crossbows as the enemy began getting to close; they picked up their sharpened staffs and deadly blades preparing for the worst. "Ranged fighters fall back!" The people that had been doing most of the fighting retreated past Spike and all of the others, leaving the Veela and Clark Kent as the only remnants of the long distance fighters. Charlie Weasley landed the Threstal and followed the others up the stairs while one of the Jaffa grabbed his staff and leaped onto the horse and spurred it back into the sky taking pot shots with his staff and letting the flying horse dive bomb the vampires sometimes ripping off parts of their bodies with his teeth as he returned to the sky to make another run.

"That means you kids!" Faith yelled at the Golden Trio as they cast a variety of fire curses into the vampire ranks.

"Not bloody likely." Ron retorted to her. "Incindio!" He shouted catching a vampire in the shoulder.

"We don't run." Harry said, making a slashing movement with his wand. "Inflareus." A number of fiery streaks erupted from his wand and hit two vampires. "Not anymore, we're going to see this down to the end."

"Well this time you do run yo!" Faith shouted at the two British wizards who were ignoring the tugs that their best friend was giving to their shoulders.

"We have to go now you two!" Hermione shouted at the two boys. "Our part is done, let the others do their part now!"

"But."

"Oh honestly." Hermione huffed; she then trained her wand on her two friends. "Levicorpus!"

The boys were flipped over in the air and held by an invisible string Hermione then towed the two boys out of the air.

"Nicely done Hermione!" Fred chortled, as he and George then un-shrunk a couple of large crate from their pockets and lit a fuse next to them before throwing them into the pit. Half way down the crates exploded and fireworks of all types spilled out. A number of the fireworks took on the vampires catching several more of the vampires on fire. The twins smirked before they apparated out of the hell throat with large cracks.

"All right everyone, up the stairs. We have to set up another line of defense." Cyclops ordered them all. The ranged fighters nodded and began heading up the stairs.

That left just those who were close range fighters, the veela, Rogue and the Last Son of Krypton to hold the vampire horde back. How long did Willow need to complete her spell, and how long till Spike's amulet did anything to help them? Was Spike really the right person to use the amulet? Were they all going to die down here after all? Those were the questions that were filtering across the minds of everyone right before the first wave of vampires surged over the ledge despite the efforts of Clark and the Veela to burn them away. The lead Vampires leaped over the ledge and engaged the potentials and a few other hand-to-hand fighters that would be joining them, other vampires leaped even higher and began scrambling along the walls till they could leap onto the Veela that were flying in a defensive circle. Rogue swallowed hard before flying toward the outcropping of remaining stalactites slamming through the hanging rock formations letting the rocks drop far below them hopefully taking some vampires out as they hit the ground. Rogue returned to hover beside Clark as the vampires pulled back after the assault waiting for the rest of their fellows to climb back to their feet.

Fleur knelt down beside her fallen grandmother and her eyes flared with anger as her normally beautiful features shifted slightly into more avian appearance. The part Veela began using an ability that she had seldom shown the ability to use as a weak fireball appeared in her hands and she tossed them at the vampires. Her raptor like cry of grief ripped through the cavern, and was then echoed by other members of Veela family as they redoubled their efforts against the Vampires who were pushed a few steps back by the fury of the Veela assault.

The Vampire army once again regrouped and made for the ledge that the forces of good were making their stands. Clark stopped his heat blasts, as they were no longer slowing the forces down anymore. He reached down and picked up a pair of sharpened wooden staffs, he tossed one of them to Rogue who snatched the weapon out of the air and the two of them then dropped to the ground beside the others it was time to take this down to the vampires level.

"You two ready?" The Slayer asked the two super strong teens curiously.

"Ready as we'll ever be I suppose." Rogue said her eyes shining with fear. Clark merely nodded in return since; he was using another blast of heat vision on a few more of the charging vampires.

No one said anything as the vampires began closing the last hundred yards between them. As the Vampires reached them though they all felt the power that started at this place and seemed to blast across the world in an explosion of power.

"They are so dead." One of the potentials said with a dark feral grin as she readjusted and tightened her grip on her own staff, looking on with an almost hungry expression as the vampires came closer.

* * *

Across the world the effect of Willow's spell was felt by the forces of light and dark, some understood the meaning while others were merely confused as they felt the power that rushed around the world.

In **Smallville Kansas**, Chloe Sullivan stumbled a bit as she felt the power that entered her along with the memories of those that came before her. Turning to her side she saw that her best friend seemed to be watching her as well as her eyes glowed a bright violet for a moment as her senses felt the power in her best friend and roommate before the sense died.

"Lana?"

"Chloe?"

"What just happened?" The Asian looking girl asked curiously.

"No idea," the shorthaired newly made slayer said, "but I so intend to find out. Out of the way." She ordered, heading for her laptop.

* * *

In **Lawrence, Kansas** the seer known as Missouri gasped as she felt the changes that were occurring around the world, she shuddered as she felt the power that had just been released into the world, so many futures and destinies had just been changed because of the short blonde woman. "Oh Child, just what have you done to this world's destiny?" The woman asked in amazement, not sure if she was talking about the redheaded witch or the blonde Slayer, all Missouri knew was that things were going to be different from now on.

* * *

In **Colorado Springs** at Cheyenne Mountain S.G.C Lt. Hailey stumbled as she felt the power of the slayer erupt in her. The young prodigy regained her footing and grinned like a predator as she looked at the large young man that had just goaded her onto the training mat. She was going to enjoy punching this guys face in and tossing him around like the insignificant that he was.

General Hammond watched as the Stargate was glowing with power from some unknown source. Sir we're dialing out. Walter told the older man.

"I can see that son, is there anything we can do to stop it?"

"Negative sir."

"Where's it dialing to then?"

The man scrambled to look at the readings. "The chevrons are the ones from the last address that was dialed off sir."

"And that address would be?" The general asked.

"The Alpha sight sir" The man said as they all watched as the gate finished dialing and activated they watched, as a strange white energy seemed to slam through the gate and then disappear through the gate.

"What was that?"

"Unknown sir, though it was similar to what happens when an Ancient turns on a gate."

"Prepare a mission to head for the Alpha sight. I want to know what kind of damage went on down there and if it's a threat." Hammond ordered the man, who nodded in understanding at the order that he was given.

* * *

**New York Greenwhich Village**, Dr. Stephen Strange felt the power that was changing the very balance of power on the Earth, and other than supply some extra power to help the spell along the Sorcerer Supreme did nothing about the spell it would actually lessen his burden here when he had to travel the other dimensions.

* * *

Wanda Maximoff and Ethan Rayne sat on opposite corners of the world and wiped at the blood that was running from their noses as the power swept by them. The two Chaos magic users nearly fainted as they felt the raw power that was coming from the Hellmouth.

"Incredible." Ethan muttered to himself, as he recognized the magical signature of the girl whom he had once turned into a ghost.

* * *

Johnny Blaze stopped himself before he preformed his next insane jump and shivered as he felt some unknown power in the air, unaware of the fire that was surrounding his eyes as the spirit of vengeance tried to react to the spell.

* * *

**Japan**, Bruce Wayne watched unobserved from his hidden perch as a Japanese girl who moments ago was being beaten on by a pack of gang members was now holding the leader by his throat while his minions were scattered around the ground nearby. The shocked girl dropped her opponent and back up fearfully looking at her hands and the people around her in disbelief.

* * *

Jason Blood grimaced as he and Etrigam felt the magic that was sweeping over the world. The two of them understood what this meant in some ways, and wondered what there was to come of it.

* * *

Zatanna paused in her dressing room as she felt the sheer power; here was a person that was almost as powerful as she was. She was tempted to go in search of this witch, it would be so easy to follow the magical signature back to where it had come from, unfortunately even though a spell had just changed the very way the world worked the show must go on.

* * *

Shazam looked up from where he had been meditating, the old wizard was surprised at the amount of power that he felt. Was it time to call forth for a Champion? He wondered in silent thought, he had thought that he still had some time yet before he needed to create his Champion. No, it was not quiet time, but soon the world would require the kind of hero that only he could make with his mighty and ancient magic's.

* * *

The Priestess of Amazon's swooned as she felt the raw power summoning warrior women together for a mighty battle the likes that had not been seen in this world in many years. "Sister! Are you all right sister?" Diana asked her friend, who merely nodded with a weak grin.

"Aye princess, the final battle draws ever closer and the proving ground is about to either win or lose its prey that it has been choking on for the past seven years. Soon the next generation of protectors will be required to make their entrance so that they may be prepared for what is to come." The Amazon Priestess said cryptically.

"The Amazon nation stands ready to fight the forces of darkness whenever we see it." The dark haired Amazon declared with conviction.

"You know that your mother would never approve of you joining the battle unless there was no choice Diana."

"Sometimes you have to do what is right." Diana said stubbornly.

"Be careful what you do Princess." The Priestess warned the young woman.

"I will do what I feel is right." Diane answered not wanting to get into a debate with a priestess over something like this. She then walked away.

"The time for man to be made aware of our presence is near Diana, but are you strong enough to bear the burden that destiny has laid out for you?" The priestess asked into the air as she stared into the fire at the alter. "The next age of heroes is coming Princess, and soon you will have to make the choice on what is right and what is expected of you."

* * *

**Russia**, Blade slid his sword into its sheath, his vampire like senses flared as he sensed a new type of power nearby from one of the victims that he had just saved he ignored the small girl though as another girl erupted with the same power something strange had happened the Daywalker realized wondering if this was something the vampires had done or if it was something that had been done by somebody else. The only question he had was would they give him trouble now that they seemed to have some sort of power, or would they stay out of his way so that he could get his job done. He would have to make sure that Whistler learned about this, he might have heard about something like this and be able to tell him about what it was that was going on here. The old man better have an answer though the Daywalker really didn't like mysteries that he didn't already know the answers to. He thought as he drew his gun and shot into the group of vampires who's glowing eyes were darting from him to the two girls that they had been about to feast on.

"This isn't the end Slayer." One vampire that had dodged the bullets growled as it was staked by a piece of wood that one of the girls had thrown before it turned into a pile of dust.

Blade smirked; he did enjoy it when the victims got to handle the justice. The name the vampire had called the girl would have to be checked on now though, hopefully Whistler had heard of it before and be able to explain it to him.

* * *

John Constantine paused as he raised a lighter to his face; he had just finished with a particular draining exorcism. The power he felt passing by him was intoxicating to him. Something had changed with that burst of power though he could feel it deep down in his bones. He wondered how, or if it would effect him though. _'If it did effect him he doubted it would be in a good way though. Changes in the order of thing never meant good for him they always meant trouble for him no matter how much he tried to get out of the way of the problem.'_ He thought to himself bitterly as he finished lighting his cigarette.

* * *

Hellboy massaged his temple as alarms throughout the B.R.P.D complex went off as they detected a large surge of power that had overloaded about half of the sensors that they had on one of the Mystical convergence areas in California. "What is it Liz?" He asked his teammate who was working at one of the computers. "Do we have a new mission?"

The Pyrotechnic shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know." She said, "the alarms detected a surge of magic that is bigger than anything than we've seen in a long time. Last time we saw something like this was when you came through and yours was a bit bigger actually."

"This is because of a spell?" The top B.R.P.D agent said in surprise.

"Yeah, they changed something." A technician said as he worked alongside the young woman. "Unfortunately we can't seem to figure out exactly what it is that it did, but there are a number of mystically empowered people out there now we may need to send a few teams to investigate exactly what it is that we're facing."

"We're on it." Hellboy said gruffly, Liz nodded in agreement and followed after him. Abe Sapien met the two of them at the door with their orders as he fell in alongside of them.

* * *

Voldemort staggered as he felt the wave of power that shot out from beneath him. Storm used the moment of distraction to kick him in the face and then launch herself back into the sky, since he was distracted and stumbling around. "You're not going to get away from me that easy wind rider!" The Dark Lord shouted up to her as she flew away from him. Growling to himself about what he was going to do to the mutant when he caught her, the Dark Wizard rose back into the air as well.

Storm ignored the threats that the wizard said and focused instead on the weather. She called out to the winds to bring back the dark weather from moments ago. She felt herself going higher and higher as she dodged purple and red colored beams of magic. As the storm that she had built rose the mutant dove toward the streets with Voldemort hot on her tail. The mutant smirked a bit as she watched her opponent struggle to keep up with the sharp turns that she was making. The Weather mutant threw in a couple of maneuvers that had her sailing in-between trees that the wizard brashly shattered as he got close to them. It occurred to her as she watched him barely miss clipping a small car that the wizard flew and fought as he did not because of any arrogance but because his experience in the air was nowhere near what it should be when one fought her for she and the sky were as one. It gave her an idea though and she barreled down streets and alleys smiling with relief as she heard the wizard slam into buildings or random objects as he failed to make a turn. Storm shot straight up into the air as the wizard started to close in on her again this time wrenching several small signs and light poles to stay between the two of them as they flew. Voldemort cursed at her again and again blasting at her shield.

"Do you think taking me high into the air will stop me Wind Rider? I am Lord Voldemort! I am descended from the greatest of the Hogwarts four. The power of the blood of Noble Slytherian runs within my veins, and is more than even mutant filth such as you can hope to challenge. You're pathetic shield will not save you for long, no more than your running shall."

Storm didn't respond as the rain started falling drenching them both. She then sent the metal poles hurling at the wizard who merely slammed through the poles like they were some sort of annoyance. The mutant nodded silently as she watched the metal poles surround the Dark Wizard. "Power of Lighting I summon you!" The mutant woman called out again. The lighting bolts struck out, connecting with all of the various metal poles that surrounded the dark lord who's amused laugh turned into screams of pain as the poles and water amplified the power of the lighting as a dozen different poles were near him the power was amplified nearly twelve times to what it would normally have been.

The dark wizard was quickly loosing consciousness and as a last ditch maneuver he apparated away to where his Death Eaters were hiding after lending him their energy. The Death Eaters gasped in surprise, shock and fear as they saw the burned figure of their master as he collapsed to the ground in front of them. Severus Snape used the moment of shock to get them all away from this place and Potter. "My Lord, we must return you to England where you will be healed under our best care." The greasy haired potion's master said as he knelt down beside the Slytherian Lord. He summoned a large chain that was hanging from a ceiling rafter and placed the portus spell on it. The Death Eaters all touched it and disappeared with a large pop as they left the states and returned to England.

Storm waited a few moments before she flew to the city limits where Jesse Duke waiting for them all since he had agreed to wait outside of the town limits to spread the word if they failed she landed beside the man before she collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion.

Jesse Duke grumbled as he helped the tall dark skinned woman into the truck what was going on in there that would do this to someone?

* * *

"No!" Amy shouted as she looked down the hallway that they had just come from. "She can't have already cast her spell and there is no way that Willow has that much power in her. I'm the most powerful witch there is and I'll see to it even of I have to kill everyone who gets in my way." The Dark witch ranted and began drawing on more power even as Kennedy sprang from a room at the end of the hall way and ran away from them the scythe was gleaming in her hands with unexpected power as she fled from the witch.

"Prue now would be a good time." Piper said to her sister who nodded and slammed Amy into a wall of lockers. Amy looked at them in shock as she saw that her cage had faded when she had turned to follow Willow's magic trail. Phoebe took the moment that Amy was to stunned to react to throw a potion down beneath Amy's feet.

The three sisters gripped each other's hands and began chanting. "By the Power of Three we bind your Powers so mote it be. By the Power of Three we bind your Powers so mote it be."

"No, you can't do this." An enraged Amy said as she struggled against Prue's grip. "I'm to powerful even for you three to harm me." She boasted in defiance.

The sisters ignored the dark witch as they repeated the words one final time. "By the Power of Three we bind your powers so mote it be!"

A bright light surrounded Amy for a moment before it vanished with a loud cracking sound. "No." Amy said weakly in shock and disbelief at what they had done to her. She waved her hands around desperately mumbling words but nothing happened. "How could you?" She asked as she looked at the sisters.

"Simple really." Phoebe said cynically, as she looked at the now powerless dark witch. "You threatened the Earth and did try to kill us so we had to stop you."

"I'll kill you for this." The enraged young woman said, lunging at the youngest of the sisters.

Phoebe grinned as she blocked an overhand punch. "I'm really going to enjoy this." She said before she flipped Amy over her shoulder and punched her in the face. Phoebe backed up and let the former dark witch climb back to her feet. Amy charged again, and Phoebe spun out of the way of the fist and sent her elbow into the back of Amy's shoulder as she stumbled past her. Phoebe cocked her eyes at Amy. "You really want to finish this? I mean don't get me wrong, throwing you around the hallway is a change that I definitely like but you can also stop where your at and no one will care to much. Make it a lot easier on us though." She added as an afterthought.

"Your dead!" Amy snarled as she drew an Athame from behind her back. She slashed at Phoebe who ducked a few inexperienced slashes directed at her. Phoebe hissed in pain though as the blade caught her on the arm glaring angrily the witch side stepped a thrust and trapped the blade under her arm and then sent another wicked punch at Amy's face knocking her out. Phoebe sighed with relief as the young woman finally crumpled unconscious to the ground. She did add a hard kick just in case though not that she was enjoying getting some of her own back after what the witch had done to her and her sisters a few minutes ago.

* * *

Angel stood ready as the uber vamps began forcing there way through the hole that they had been hiding in. They stumbled a bit as they stepped over the demon circle and salt line that the Winchester brothers had laid out, but there was enough of them being some type of human that he supposed that they were still able to break through. He tightened his grip on his sword as they came shooting out like a kicked over anthill. He used one of his spring-loaded stakes in the sleeve of his jacket to take one out while another was decapitated with a swinging blow of his sword. The brothers were aiming at the heads of the uber vamps with their sawed off shotgun, while Moody and Bra'tac were a whirling blurs of motion that were burning cutting and dusting the vampires. He didn't say anything as Oz once again transformed into a giant werewolf ready to do battle with the forces that were against them. "Just like old times." The vampire muttered as he jumped into the fight.

O'Neill watched as the various long-range fighters fled from the doorway where they had been fighting just a few minutes ago. "Everyone get ready, I think we're about to have company!" He got various acknowledgements as people signaled themselves as being as ready as they were going to be.

Cyclops nodded as he stood alongside his military uncle. "What now?"

'_Head for the east hallway Scott, it's near a sewer access that's by a pair of doors they can't be allowed to get that far.'_ Xavier thought sent to his protégé after he scanned the mind of the tacticians who were in charge of troop deployments.

'_Understood professor.'_ The mutant returned with an answering thought as he grabbed the arm of a nearby wizard who apparated them to the side of the building where he would do the most good with a number of other wizards and witches and the remaining members of his team. A few of the wizards and witches tiredly conjured and summoned desks to use as a defensive platform.

"How long do you think?" Harry asked as he wiped his wand of some of the grime that it had picked up.

"Who knows mate." Ron said as he steeled himself for the next part of the fight. "But it should be pretty bloody interesting."

"Honestly, we're in the middle of a fight for the world and you two are talking like its no big deal." Hermione complained as she readied her own wand. Her complaints died down though as they all heard a werewolf howl echo up from the basement. The second level had been breached, and the small group holding the stairwell had been pushed back.

Riley Finn watched as the doors were forced open and the super vampires were now free. "Fire!" He shouted and the flamethrowers that had been placed near the door opened up turning the first dozen of the things into crispy critters before some of them charged out so fast that there was no way that the flames could ignite them. Soldiers stationed around the school sighted on the uber vampires and began shooting at the heads and joints of the creatures using shotguns and hollow tipped rounds in their guns that had been saved for just this fight in mind. The groups of vampires were lead away from the hallway where the fighting was going on into traps and other types of barriers that had been designed with these demonic bloodsuckers in mind. Walls and ceilings were blasted out trapping the super vampires in the sunlight, while holy water began to be sprayed down from the fire suppression system. He would have to remember to thank Sam Winchester, Giles and Samantha Carter for rigging that thing up later. He briefly wondered how long he and the others could last against these things before they took them all down. After all they were all normal humans, and not everyone had the same survival rate and luck factor that Xander Harris had. He had known Buffy Summer a number of years, and had learned long ago to not bet against her. But even he had his doubts that the feisty blonde heroine could beat the kind of odds that were currently stacked up against them right now, and wondered what kind of unexpected trick his ex might have up her sleeve this time around that would surprise them all. Or if this would actually be the one where they fell down.

Jack O'Neill grunted as he and several of the remains of the other SGC teams faced off against what looked like about fifty Bringers. Xavier had sensed them, and Jack had led the SGC soldiers to deal with the mostly human members of the military force. Most of these blind people were armed with their wicked looking daggers, but some of them also had swords and bows in their hands. He hated to admit it, but despite their superior weaponry they were being slowly pushed back toward the doorway that led to the basement where the Finn's and the bulk of their part of the forces were preparing to stand against the uber vamps. He actually thought that the layered defensive measures that Buffy had put up was a fairly good defense since they couldn't chance placing everyone in the same spot. Besides, this way they were likely to wear the corpses out before they could do too much damage hopefully. Jack looked to either side as he saw Sam and Daniel standing on either side of him; he briefly wished that Teal'c was with them while they were doing what could possibly be SG1's final fight. He wondered if this really was going to be their last stand, and if Daniel's words from a few days ago as they had stood in front of the Stargate had in some way been prophetic of what was to come here. He internally shrugged his concerns off though, if he could run around blowing mother ships up while he was inside them with a cocky attitude and a bad joke on the tip of his tongue then he could face the odds of the First, the Bringers all of the super vampires and whatever else there was here to fight with no problem. He had his team here after all; he could do anything with his team here.

* * *

Spike grunted as the amulet finally started doing something. Hey "Buffy I think its time for you to leave." The blonde vampire called out to the Slayer, as lights began shooting out of his body burning the various vampires as the beams struck them. The blonde Slayer watched silently for a moment before nodding her head in reluctant agreement. "Faith get them out of here!" She called out to her sister Slayer. The brunette nodded a worried look in her eyes as she chased the newly empowered slayers and their various allies up the steps and out of the hole, leaving the blonde ensouled vampire, and the longest known living Slayer in recorded history alone within the hell-throat.

Jack grunted as one of the vampires tackled him to the ground. The two military groups had been pushed together and were now fighting side-by-side just doing their best to survive the odds that they were currently up against right now. His P90 went flying to the side as his body slammed to the ground. Moving as quickly as he could the man clawed for his sidearm, once he had it out he began filling the vampire with the entire clip. The vampire was pushed back a bit as all of the bullets entered in it chest before hissing at the colonel and baring its fangs. It knocked the gun out of the man's hand and looked down on its prey. Sam and Daniel were to busy with their own fights to be able to help him out either. Jack glared at the demon human hybrid defiantly. Before anything else could happen though the vampire dusted as Faith came up behind the vamp and staked it.

"Yo Flyboy!" Faith said as she helped Jack up. Angel, Teal'c, Oz, Bra'tac, Mad-Eye, Clark and Rogue created a defensive wall for them giving the two a small breather and chance to talk without to much distraction.

"What?" Jack asked her coughing up some of the vampire dust that had fallen down on him.

"We need to leave now." The Slayer yelled as she helped the soldier up to his feet.

"What about the hellthroat?" He asked nodding toward the door.

"The Vampyre Spike is dealing with it O'Neill." Teal'c told the man as he fired his staff into the face of another of the charging vampires.

"Yeah, Blondie used his funky jewelry thingamajig and is doing some kind of Anime lightshow stuff down there with his glowing and all that burning all of the uber vamps and bringing the cavern down. So unless you want to be on this one-way elevator to hell lets get the hell out of here."

"Actually I've been on that elevator," Angel said, "or at least a similar one. Trust me the result at the end isn't quiet what you would expect. It was kind of depressing actually."

"I'll just trust your opinion on that." Jack returned to the dark haired vampire.

"Indeed."

"Yo professor, you get the mind memo?" Faith asked into the air, wondering if she needed to focus on the words or something like that for the cue ball to hear her.

'_I did Faith.'_ Xavier mentally responded to her. _'The orders have already been sent and everyone is slowly withdrawing to the best of their ability. Though we are not quiet out of the woods yet since we still have to fight our way through the remains of the Hand Ninja once we get outside.'_

Faith nodded in understanding the dark haired slayer had only been afraid in a handful of her fights the only beings that had made her scared had been Kakistos, Buffy, the Beast, and Angel. She had beaten all of them though in her own way sometimes only temporarily but there was something about those Hand Ninja that made her skin crawl since they weren't quiet human nor were they quiet demons. She was just going to have to accept the fact that she was going to have some really weird dreams later on after this was all over. Of course just about everyone was going to have some weird dreams after all of this was finally over, and they could finally actually get some decent sleep without having to worry about an attack that would have them all killed while they were all in their beds.

Xavier smiled tiredly as he read Faith's thoughts as he withdrew from her thoughts and began sending out the orders to retreat. "Professor, I hope you don't mind, but there simply isn't time to make use of your preferred manner of transportation. Particularly seeing as we will need to make the utmost haste as we depart from this Hellish environment." Beast said as he entered the room where Xavier was directing the battle through his mind meld.

"That sounds like a good plan Hank." Xavier said, the two men ignoring the fact that Xavier had a small streak of blood coming from his nose, while Beast had a heavy ax in one hand, and was bleeding on both of his arms. Beast nodded as he scooped his mentor up in his arm, and loped along with everyone else toward the doors. They met everyone back at the front doors where they had first entered.

"This everyone?" Samantha Finn asked Xavier who nodded. Weakly the strain of keeping everyone connected combined with having those people die while he was directing them was starting to take a toll on his abilities since he had experienced everything that all of the others were experiencing due to the link and was trying to direct them as well.

"All right then campers take care of the doors." Jack said to the group of slayers who were now standing by the doors ready for just this order. All of the Slayers nodded, turned and kicked as hard as they could kicking all of the double doors off their hinges and sent them flying into groups of Hand ninja that were in the way of the doors. The sight that met them was disturbing while there were fallen Hand ninja uniforms all over the place there were also the signs that the three that they had left to guard the place was at their last stand unless they were helped immediately.

"GO!" The various leaders ordered and Xavier sunk into the minds of the defenders of the Earth once again as energy beams bullets and spell fire ripped across the field at various angles as people made a run not only for their tired allies but for the various rides out as well. Ninja fell all around the front of the school, as the large group surged forward. The three who had held the Hand back from the school while the others fought the First troops were picked up in the rush as everyone made their move.

* * *

"You need to go now Buffy." Spike said as the ceiling began to crumble around them.

"No." The Slayer said tears falling down her face as she held her hand out to him while her other held onto the scythe. "You've done enough." She pleaded at him.

"I don't think so Buffy."

"I love you." The Slayer said to the vampire.

"No you don't, but thanks for saying it. Now you run along." The vampire said with sad acceptance to the woman before him. The Slayer nodded as well and ignored the tears that were running down her face as she rushed out of the Hellmouth leaving the vampire alone. Spike grinned grimly as he saw the rest of the army of uber vamps rushing at him and the exit that was behind him. "I want to see how it ends." The vampire muttered, wishing for a moment that he had a cigarette before he became consumed with pain as his soul charged the amulet even more before it's energy consumed him as well as the Hellmouth.

* * *

Everyone was loading up in their various cars the Dukes stood by helping the wounded into the various cars two or three cars were going to have to be left behind though because of not needing the vehicles with the numbers that they currently had. "Go! Go! Go!" Luke ordered, waving the troop transport on out. He looked up in the air as the X-jet wobbled as it lifted off, having taken some of the wounded with them. Daisy pulled out alongside the Winchesters and Charmed ones leaving the two cousins as the last ones left in the parking lot. "Let's go Bo." Luke said.

The blonde nodded, and ran at the car sliding across the hood of the orange stock car then climbed into the car through the window. "You ready cuz?" Asked the usually smiling blonde man.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Luke returned.

"Then lets get out of here." Bo said as he gunned the powerful engine and began speeding down the road that would lead them out of the town.

* * *

Xavier looked up from where he was sitting paling as he realized something. "Scott, we left Buffy behind in there!" He shouted hearing a cold laugh in his head, realizing that the First had somehow managed to block his perception of the blonde doing its best to insure that the cause of its defeat died alongside of its vanquished army.

"What!" Came the response from several people who were just beginning to breathe easier realized that they had left their leader behind on accident.

"I can't do anything professor, the wings were clipped with some derbies when we took off. We have almost no maneuverability at all at the moment we can go up down and forward, our hover jets won't allow us to rotate either." Scott glared out the window as if he was trying to come up with some other way to save his cousin from the crumbling town.

"She's on the roofs." Xavier told them, clutching at his head and trying to focus on the young woman. He mentally sent out a distress call for someone to deal with it when he felt the First block his ability to sense the Slayer anymore. "I'm being blocked." Xavier told them sagging into his chair unable to help any more than he already had.

The Duke boys nodded to each other after a moment of silent conversation and Bo tightened his grip on the wheel and yanked as hard as he could spinning the General around kicking up smoke from their tires as they did it. They sped as fast as the General could back toward the school; they had a cousin to save after all. As they sped along they hard a loud thump Luke turned and saw that a small blond woman was hanging onto the trunk for dear life as they sped through Sunneydale.

"We got her Bo."

The blonde man nodded and they all held their breath as they spun around again and made their way towards the city limits.

Buffy grunted as she slowly inched her way forward while the bright orange car sped along with her on it she saw that they were getting close to the edge of town and that there was a large crack I the ground between Sunneydale and the rest of the world. Aiming Buffy flung the scythe into the window of the car and then scrambling a little faster she managed to climb onto the hood and grasped the car through the open window.

"Hold on cousin!" She heard before the car hit a pile of rock and dirt and the entire car was suddenly flying over the carter that had formed. Buffy smiled and joined in with the yell of exhilaration with her cousins as they flew over the chasm that had opened up trying to trap them within Sunneyhell. She grinned as the horn from the General Lee came on and blared out its song of victory, at least that's what it sounded like to her. She grinned as they landed on the other side of Dean Winchester car kicking gravel up as they came to a stop.

Jesse Duke looked at the face of the blonde and groaned to himself. As if Bo, Luke, Daisy and Cooter weren't enough when it came to causing and finding trouble, it looked like he was now going to have to start worrying about a certain blonde Slayer now as well.

Everyone grinned as they stumbled out of their rides or limped from the apparition points and slapped each other on the back they had lost between thirty and forty percent of their forces but somehow they had managed to survive the fight.

* * *

"I can't believe it!" A figure said angrily as he watched from a pool of water. "You can't be serious, there was supposed to be fighting that was going to span the globe not this one little bity fight." The figure was high lighted for a moment as a bearded man with black in black leather armor and a large sword at his side. "Where's the carnage and blood? Where are the endless miles of long battlefields, with their long rows of dead? Where are the armies that are supposed to be calling on me in victor?"

"You really can't stand it when the good guys win can you Ares?" A large broad shouldered man asked, as he joined the Greek War God with looking down into a pool that showed the victorious group of Champions. A number of potential champions had been culled out of the way in the wizards, witches and soldiers that had died and in some cases some had failed the tests that they had been given, the man thought as he looked at Peter Rauspitn as he was held down in a medical bed on his way to Muir island medical research Island.

"You. The man said angrily pointing at the new comer. This is your fault, somehow you did something."

"Me?" The figure asked in surprise. "You think I had something to do with this?"

"Don't play innocent with me baby brother, I know you all to well."

"I'm sorry Ares, but I didn't do anything this time. They did it all on their own." Hercules told the war god, "and its half brother."

"Don't play games with me, we both know very well it's the combination of demon power and your blood that gives your slayer descendants their power, and I can't very well see you letting your line of do gooders just die out like that."

"Normally your correct, but this time your not."

"You may be one of the only guys in the world I can talk to Hercules, but you are really close to having me burn a hole in you right now!" Ares snarled at the half god who dared to stand up to him and act like he had nothing to do with what had just happened as an energy ball appeared in his hand. "I know you had to have done something to help them and ruin my war, why can't you just leave well enough alone? That war had been in the making for over 10 years and you destroyed it in a moment."

"Ares you know we can't do that." A raven-haired woman said, as she walked up alongside the brown haired man.

"Xena. What are you doing here?" Ares asked angrily.

"Stopping you from making a mistake is what." The woman said, as she locked gazes with the war god. "Now what is he accusing you of this time?" The clone of the Warrior Princess asked curiously; as she looked down into the pool that the other two had been looking into and saw a crowd of people looking the worst for wear congratulating each other.

"Apparently some of our descendants stopped a really nasty war from happening and Ares is determined that I did something to alter the balance in the fight." Hercules explained to the copy of his old friend, the Xena that had been reincarnated had shared a soul sharing with this clone allowing all of her memories and thoughts to be handed down making it as if she was the original and not just a copy.

"Sorry Ares, but Hercules has been rather busy." A short haired blonde woman in a halter top and shorts said, as she walked out of the mist accompanied by a long haired blonde woman in a pink teddy.

"What are you two boys fighting about this time anyways?" The longhaired blonde asked with the tired knowledge of someone used to constant fighting between the two people that she was talking to.

"Ares lost another chance for a magical war." Hercules explained to Aphrodite with a smirk, "and by the great logic of Ares it is my fault that he lost."

"Oh. Is that all?"

"Is that all!" Ares yelled at his two siblings. "He just helped the current Slayer stop the possible destruction of the entire world! I was really hoping to get her gone for good this time too. That particular Slayer is becoming as big of a pain as Hercules used to be when he was wandering Greece."

"Thanks Ares, its nice to know that my descendants are messing with your plans so well." Hercules said smugly as he crossed his arms and leaned against a giant pillar.

"You know, sometimes I really miss Zeus since he was the only one that could ever get the two of you to stop fighting. We could so actually have some peace around here if he were." Aphrodite said, as she crossed her own arms and glared at her two brothers. "Maybe I should go and see if Thor is busy with anything. If he isn't I'm sure that he and I can find something to do." The goddess said with a grin.

"Which one? The Aseir or the Assgaurd?" Hercules asked with interest.

"Hello, do you really think I want to spend my time dealing with creepy little gray alien guys baby brother?" Aphrodite asked with a sickened look on her face.

"Sorry my mistake I forgot who I was talking to there for a minute." Hercules said shaking his head. "Hey, before you leave think we can go down there and congratulate them on a job well done?"

"Well baby bro, I don't see any problem what about you Ares?" They all turned and gave Ares a look that even the grumbling war god had to acknowledge.

"Fine, we'll go down there and congratulate them." Ares sneered at them. "Xena, Gabrielle will you two be joining us?"

"Yeah I think we will." Xena said as she strapped her Chakram and sword on. "It'll be nice to see all these kids."

"Ooh, this will be so neat." Aphrodite said, as they disappeared from Mount Olympus into clouds of flower petals and lighting bolts. The group reappeared in front of the group and was met with a number of weapons and abilities ready to be let loose on them if they were a threat.

"Gotta say, their social skills are good." Ares said with a smirk as he looked at the assembled group.

"Who are you?" Buffy asked, as she held the Scythe ready to start slicing against the group in front of them if they attacked them.

"Easy there," Hercules said holding his hands up, "we're not here to start a fight. We're here to congratulate you."

"And you are?"

"One of your ancestors kid so put the weapon down now." Ares ordered as he strode past them to check out what exactly had happened to the Hellmouth.

"Uh huh, so I'm related to sour puss bondage boy, a teddy wearing Barbie, bondage Queen with Slayer weapons, and who knows what the hell the two of are." Buffy said in exasperation, as she looked at Hercules and Gabrielle. "Why am I not surprised? I mean I'm also related to mutants, aliens, soldiers, witches and who knows what else."

"Sorry about that, Ares is kind of upset right now." Hercules said, trying to hide his amusement at the Slayer's colorful descriptions of them.

"Ares? As in God of War Ares?"

"Yeah that's him, only he's the real thing not some overgrown worm trying to pretend he's a god." Xena said to the girl in front of her who called her a bondage queen.

"Okay, and they are?"

"Well that's Aphrodite the goddess of love, and over there are Xena and Gabrielle."

"And you are?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'm Hercules."

"Right, and the reason your only now showing up would be what?" The Slayer asked as she hesitantly began lowering her weapon.

"Ares might have made it a competition between him and me and tried to start something that would have been a pain. As a war god, he kind of wanted you to lose so that he could have a war and a likely increase in followers. Then again there is the fact that you are all distantly related to him, so he might have done something to help you to, probably would have come up with some sort of compromise where he whisked you and whoever survived away at the last minute and then prepared you to be his next protégé general. How am I doing Ares?"

"Not bad little brother, not bad at all. You really have the mind for these things it's a shame you insist on trying to find other ways to do things." Ares smirked a bit at some of the glares he was now receiving. "Just think about it, things would have gone great, you would have been my greatest army ever, and nothing would have stood in your way. And you," he said looking at Buffy approvingly, "you would have become as much of a Legend as Xena and Hercules were back in their day."

"Yep, but instead I stayed out of it and waited for Ares to make a move and Ares waited for me to make a move thus negating the two of us and so balance was satisfied."

"Oh no, not the whole balance thing again, come on Herc don't you think that thing is a little over discussed?" Ares mockingly asked the half god.

"Considering that its one of the laws of the universe? No, not really." Hercules returned to the war god.

"So, do you have anything to do, or are you here to just be a pain in the ass?" Buffy asked the group of Greeks in irritation, she was tired hurt hungry and a tad bit horny right now and she had just lost one of the few people that had stood by her no matte what. So in other words she was in no mood for a god and a legend to have a pissing contest in front of her even if she was related to them.

"Actually I'm just waiting for the cars to get here." Hercules admitted.

"What cars?"

"The cars that are going to take you to L.A, I figure after that we can all figure out what's going on, who knows maybe we can even rent a restaurant in a couple days after everybody's wounds are healed."

"Um excuse me, but we do have a Whitlighter here for most of those injuries." Prue said as she waved casually at Leo who was helping the more severely injured fighters with their various injuries."

"Good point, so if it's all right with you I'll have a place rented and set up for you then." Hercules offered Buffy.

"Yeah sure, that'll work." The Slayer said, "give us a week to sleep and then we can party."

"Sounds like a plan." Dean said with a grin. "The family that bleeds together, parties together."

"Dude, only you would come up with something like that." Sam said shaking his head in disbelief.

"Yeah, but he's right, so lets get going." Buffy said as the cars that 'Kevin Sorbo' had called for finally showed up for them.

* * *

**Disclaimer. **

**Just kidding!**

The writer begins muttering to himself as he dodges a lighting bolt attack. "Why couldn't I have been happy with the characters that I already had? No I couldn't though could I? Had to go and practically ask someone new to come and take potshots at me. You would think that I've learned my lesson after all this wouldn't you?" The writer moans as he then dodge a heavy sword that would have sliced his head off and instead nicks his hat. "And of course the people that I add to this little story had to be super powerful and want a go at me."

"Shut up and dance! Ares yells as he gathers a ball of energy together and tosses it at the unlucky writer who barely manages to get away in time before the energy ball blows a hole in the wall. "This'll teach you to write a peaceful ending." The War God cries.

"Fine, I don't own anything in this as I've said before, and Xena and Hercules and all of their co-star characters do not belong to me either."


	31. Epilogue

No fancy disclaimer folks just this **_DISCLAIMER!!_**

**_

* * *

_**

One Week Later:

Buffy Summers smiled as she took a swig of her drink. Thanks to the help of everyone they had managed to get the Wolfram and Hart bar entirely to themselves. _'It helped being connected to the guy in charge.'_ The blond Slayer mused to herself with a satisfied smirk, remembering the hissy fit that some evil lawyer guys had made about the place being ruined by the whole goodness thing that they all had going for them. Now that almost everyone was healed up thanks to a combination of various magic's and technological methods that they had at their disposal, methods that had put just about everyone at least between eighty and ninety percent back to full health, except for a few that had been hurt a bit worse than others. They were now having a proper family reunion before they all had to head back toward their own various lives where they were needed to do their jobs in keeping the Earth safe from the various threats that endangered it. Soon they would be back to fighting their own individual fights, but plans had been made so that things like this could happen if the need ever came up again. They had all found out they weren't alone in the world they were going to make the most of that bit of information. The realization that they didn't have to hold the world on their shoulders alone anymore was relieving.

There had been discussions and they were even now finishing some of their theories for what they would be doing. The Air Force and Army, or more importantly the SGC and Riley's demon hunting unit would now be where Slayer's or demon hunters former or in the know would be sent if they decided to join the military complete with scholarships that were slightly larger than most were. There would be little Slayer academies scattered all around now as well instead of placing all of their hopes in one place from now on. Caleb had shown the problem with that when he had placed his bomb during the Emergency meeting that the old Watchers Council had called. They had also thought that rotating the Slayers around between the various schools/bases would be a good idea as well. It would make it so that the newbie Slayers didn't feel as if they were being trapped defending their area as Buffy had. She had made plans, and the Hazzard and Smallville farms were perfect out of the way places for super strong teen girls to go and get their schooling and to train, the fact that they would have excellent people to give them the great set of values was just icing on the cake as far as she was concerned. The fact that there would be plenty of things for the Slayers to do to keep themselves busy was another bonus. Weird happening always seemed to just happen somehow in Hazzard, and meteor rock mutants needing to have their butts kicked were in Smallville, it was perfect training ground as far as she could see. There was also the added benefit that at farms the girls could use some of their extra energy and strength to help keep the farms going, something that Jonathan Kent had smirked knowingly at his son about. The Charmed Ones had also agreed to take on at least two Slayers for the time being, and Xavier had promised that he would arrange for any of the excess girls at his school and for smaller versions of the Danger Room to be built within these new training areas. Hercules had agreed to design a training regimen similar to the one that he had followed as a teen at the Academy under Chiron. Xena, a reluctant Ares and various military people would be designing the tactics that would be used by the new crop of Slayers. Things were coming together much better than she had hoped for, and now all she had to do was wait for the various details to iron themselves out, but for now they could sit back and relax and enjoy the quiet after the battle that they had just fought. None of them were under any illusions though, and knew that in time that they would have to return to their lives and individual battles that they belonged in. It seemed it was their family's duty to stand between the various forces that threatened the Earth. They also knew though that a number of the next generation of watchers was going to be coming from the friends and family that were around them.

The Slayer stole a look around and couldn't help but smile at what she was seeing. Daniel Jackson and Jesse Duke were sitting in a corner discussing how to make the best Moonshine was, the two of them were actually arguing about their recipes. In another corner Dean Winchester, Xander Harris, Jack O'Neill and Luke Duke were discussing explosives. Amusingly enough all of the Sam's had gotten together and were talking, the Slayer was tempted to walk up and call out Sam except for the fact that Dean and Jack had already done that. Mad-Eye Moody, Wolverine and Bra'Tac were off in a corner bar talking about old battles that they had been, in and drinking toasts to the ones that had fallen in their latest set of battles. The Golden Trio were in another corner tending to their giant friend Hagrid who was unused to the attention that the three were bestowing onto him and kept on insisting that they go and enjoy themselves. The Half giant meanwhile was talking with some of the other older members of the family about animals and other things. Everyone seemed to be having a good time and the Slayer was glad that they had been given this brief respite from their various enemies before they were forced back into their various fights.

"To Family!" Someone shouted.

"Whether it be by blood or by love." Giles added from his own seat where he had been talking to Minerva McGonagall and Duncan McLeod.

"Here! Here!" Everyone shouted raising a glass in a salute before throwing his or her drinks back. This was one family that would always help each other out.

Buffy grinned a bit as she looked around one more time before knocking her own drink back. Yes things were finally looking up, and her family would always have her back and she would always have theirs. Always.

* * *

Harry Potter performed the hover charm on the necklace and nodded to Hermione who was standing on the other side of the bulletproof glass working on a piece of machinery. They heard a voice that was echoing in the room but ignored it there was a flash of bright light and the Horux was gone. Harry grinned to the people on the other side of the glass as they applauded him and Hermione. Jack O'Neill had a satisfied smirk on his face as he had never quiet forgiven Voldemort for slamming him into a wall, and this was one way that he could make the wannabe snake suffer.

* * *

Clark Kent stood alongside the soldiers blasting away at the replicators as they tried to gain access to the super weapon that everybody had realized was in some holy space temple as the things froze he took a breath for a moment and then blew on them freezing some of the various creatures in their tracks and then super sped around the area disassembling a large group of the others.

Clark watched from his spot on the ground as the Charmed Ones pulled Lana out of the haze that Isobel had created within her, and soon the young girl had not only her own mind but the powers of her dead ancestor.

"Clark?" The girl asked in confusion as she looked around and saw that they were no longer in the prison being tortured but were outside and she was now wearing some type of silk robe over her clothes.

"Its okay, your memory is going to be kind of screwed up for a few minutes though." A young woman a bit older than either of them was said, as she knelt down in front of her.

"What happened?"

"Isobel." Clark said as he was helped to his feet nodding his thanks to Leo and Piper.

"How much more of this am I going to have to deal with?" The girl asked in frustration.

"No more, at least if you don't count the fact that you have all of the knowledge and power of your ancestor now." Phoebe said with a Cheshire cat grin. "That may come in handy one of these days, after you learn how to control it that is."

"Who are you?"

"Oh, didn't Clark tell you about his family from California?" Prue said with a smirk at the farm boy who was turning a nice shade of red at the moment.

"I think we should feel insulted that you haven't said anything about us."

"Anyways back to what we're here for. Piper said as she knelt down and checked the newly made witch out. "With our help we can teach you how to use your powers for good."

Lana looked at the three hopefully. "Really?"

"Yeah really."

"And if they can't do it Willow can." Clark said with a grin. "Besides we need a witch in the Smalville area, it will make some of our work a bit easier if we had someone with some magical training to help us out against the mutants and occasional demons that pop through."

"Demons?"

"We'll explain it all to you, or rather your friends will explain it to you." Piper promised the girl.

"My friends?"

"Yes, Clark and Chloe will just love to explain everything wouldn't you Clark?"

Clark sighed a bit both scared and excited at the same time as he nodded.

* * *

Belasco growled in defiance as the witch Willow bound the soul of his Darkchilde to her making the soul sword crumble where it rested, the girl would now never truly be rid of her humanity now.

"Thank you." Colossus said as he held his little snowflake protectivley.

"No problem all in the work of a witch." Willow told the giant of a man.

* * *

The X-men gave cheers as a force of Slayers and SGC personal were beamed onto the island enforcing them as they stood against the various forces that Magneto had managed to convince to join up with him.

Magneto frowned as he watched the X-Men and their human allies mow a wave of his troops down with some type of energy weapons that shot blue light out, the weapons looked metallic yet they felt like no metal that he had ever felt on the Earth before.

* * *

The Scythe came crashing down and snapped the Ravenclaw tiara into two pieces. "Lets go." Buffy said taking the scythe back from Ron Weasley, as she led her forces while Harry and his friends did whatever it was that they had to do.

* * *

Angel grinned as he watched a sight he hadn't seen in a year as Slayers and other fighters rose from their hiding places to battle the forces of darkness, they now had an army that would match the forces of Wolfram and Hart.

Spike chuckled and took the time to take an extra large drag on his cigarette lighting his face up for a moment. "Slayer called her family up again I see." The blonde said casually.

"Gotta love cell phones." Angel said with a chuckle wondering briefly what Cordy would have thought if she had heard him say something like that.

* * *

Lana, Chloe and Pete stood beside Clark nodding in support; they would be here to help their friend if he needed or wanted it when he went to face Zor-El.

* * *

Oliver Queen looked at the number curiously that Clark had given him on his way out of town, he had often debated about whether or not he should use it, but in the end he had decided to and had been welcomed into a family of heroes along with the other members of his team and rather than tell him how to do something or other they let him lead his team his way and offered ideas and support all of the time.

* * *

Storm directed the thunderstorm as the Wraith darts came flying down toward Atlantis. The mutant's eyes narrowed as she the horrid creatures coming toward them in their metallic ships. If they truly wanted to attack the Earth then by the Bright Lady they would have to slip past her first. The mutant thought as lighting bolts danced all around them blasting through the various dart craft.

* * *

Dawn looked up as a second group joined the Marines that were coming out of the Stargate and looked nervous as she saw who was there. After a series of hugs she looked at the leader of the group. "Don't worry about me I'll be perfectly safe, there's no chance that anything will happen its on the other side of the galaxy. Its not like they even have a tuesday in another galaxy." Buffy mocked as she looked at the head linguist of the Atlantis project. The woman was currently throwing each and everyone of her arguments back at her in a mocking tone. "So tell me, if all of that is true then why are there four dead slayers, and an attack that could destroy the world getting ready to happen?" Buffy asked her sister with a glare that could melt steel.

"Um good to see you to." Dawn tried.

"You're so lucky your to old to ground." Buffy said as she walked past her sister to join the Colonel who was busy barking orders at people.

* * *

Logan grinned as he dove into another group of the enemy, as the years had passed so had their numbers grown. A family that had at one time numbered some forty or so had now climbed as individuals and as groups so that now there were enough forces for each of them to send to help if the call came out. They now had friends and family from even farther and more diverse groups. They had beings that they were proud to count among their numbers the fact they were a secret family society within the realm of a world of heroes and superheroes was amusing since only those counted as family were allowed to truly know the secret.

* * *

Troops stood between the Charmed ones and the angry mob that were hungering for blood. There was no way that any of these people were going to be getting close to the family of a general if they could help it.

* * *

The family funeral for Superman was large as the various people came silently from the various shadowed corners of the streets. Men of wealth and freaks stood side by side as they stood beneath the large statue of one of their own. He may have been the last son of Krypton, but he was also one of their sons though and that was how he would be remembered by them. The parts of Superman's family that the world hadn't known about nodded to each other silently lost in the grief of the lost of one of their own that had been lost as they gathered around Ma and Pa Kent.

* * *

A group of Slayers stood ready at the command of the Batman as they entered the sixth month of the No Man's Land. Faith led the group of girls that followed the orders of the Batman as long as it came to humans and meta-humans, but when it came to the supernatural they did their duties as coolly as a team of trained soldiers.

* * *

The Beyonder stared with wonder at the family and gave as close to a mental shrug as he could as he summoned the entire family into his Secret War he would enjoy seeing j\how such a family survived against these kinds of odds that they were now going to be pitted against.

* * *

Everyone stood around, as they watched Piper and Leo tie the knot. Knowing looks were scattered here and there between various fighters and Champions as the people all watched the happy couple kiss. Aphrodite giggled as she saw one of her pet projects come to fruitation. The Goddess of Love always had been a bit of a sucker for making the impossible romances work out in some way. She looked over at the blonde Slayer with a mischievous smirk as the Slayer leaned against her lover. Perhaps she should back to work on that little project of hers. It was a sad tale of love that she had been forced to put on the back burner for several years, the Gypsies may have screwed up the young love that they had started with but perhaps she could make it worthwhile if she was careful. The power of the Slayer had increased in the young woman the Goddess noted and add in the fact that she was descended from the lineage of the Greek Gods themselves the girl would live a long life as long as no one killed her that is. Besides she hated to leave a project like that unfinished, and Spike was a bit to busy these days with the younger sister who was finally coming into her own powers after a few years of training to get in the way anymore.

"Leave them alone for the moment." Xena said as she came up behind her friend.

"But."

"You can do your thing after the soul is bound." Hercules told his half sister sternly. "We don't need Angelus on Earth sis, not with all that he knows about all of us." The goddess pouted and nodded in reluctant agreement with her brother.

* * *

Roma guardian of the multi verse nodded this universe which was a meddling of many had a strong chance of survival with all of its champions.

* * *

Ta da! We are finally done folks! Leave your parting comments and shots. Whether they be good or bad leave them please. Now I have to decide what to work on now, whether it's an existing story of mine or a new one, maybe I'll go back to my Buffy\Batman story I abandoned in favor of this one I still have some of the notes from it. Who knows. Till next time folks. 


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